Lost Love
by The Jasper Raven
Summary: Sometimes we don't realize how much we loved something until it's lost forever. [NaruHina][SasuSaku]
1. Love Rectangle

**Lost Love**

**A/N: You should definitely read "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" before you read this for things to make sense. Thanks!! LOL**

**Ch. 1: ****Love Rectangle?**

It seemed like yesterday was the Christmas party that changed Naruto's love life. He could remember Hinata's first kiss so clearly…underneath the mistletoe. It had been two months since the Christmas party that started Naruto's relationship with Hinata and ended his crush on Sakura. It was late February; almost March. Hinata and Naruto's relationship was going great. Sakura and Sasuke's feelings about the relationship hadn't changed.

Sasuke and Sakura were at the Training Field first, as usual. Sakura hadn't been flirting with Sasuke as much since Naruto started dating Hinata. Sakura was jealous of Hinata. She enjoyed boys melting in her wake at her beauty. She didn't have many fanboys. Since Naruto stopped flirting with her, all she had was Rock Lee. She wanted Naruto to collapse at her feet. She tapped her foot impatiently. She was waiting for Naruto so she could try and win him back as a fanboy.

Sasuke thought Sakura was acting like a little bitch. She got worse as the "months of naruhina" passed. If Sakura didn't get what she wanted, this is how she acted, just to get her own way. Naruto arrived late (not as late as Kakashi) but, he was not alone. As usual, Hinata was at his side. She always accompanied Naruto to training. That made Sakura even more jealous.

"Have a good day Naruto. Don't strain yourself."

"I won't. Take care."

Since Naruto started dating her, Hinata's confidence had grown. Her performance in missions was gradually improving and she didn't stutter as much. Hinata also boosted Naruto's motivation and he was getting stronger and stronger. Naruto gave her a kiss good-bye and Hinata left to her own training. Naruto took a seat on one of the tree stumps, humming a little tune. Sasuke glanced up at him. Naruto was always the positive link in the team but never this optimistic. Sakura was glaring at him. Since the party, Naruto just ignored Sakura. Today she'd make him look at her. Sasuke'll murder her though.

"So. Naruto. Did you hear the news?"

Naruto ignored her. Her face turned red in fury and embarrassment.

"N-Naruto…this is important. It really affects the squad."

Naruto always wanted to know everything about his team. He glanced at Sasuke questioningly first. Sasuke was just as confused as Naruto. He kept a wary eye on Sakura. He could tell she was going to do something _really _stupid. Sakura continued.

"D-Did you hear that Sasuke and I are going out?"

"WHAT!!!" the two boys screamed.

"Yeah! See?"

Sasuke was still to in shock by Sakura's statement, so he was caught off guard when she jumped on top of him and kissed him.

_Holy shit! _Sasuke thought.

"Holy shit!" Naruto screamed.

Sasuke fell backwards onto the grass with Sakura still on him. Naruto was staring in absolute shock and horror. Sasuke pushed Sakura off of him.

"What the hell was that!!"

"Just play along!" she whispered.

"No!! Physco whore!!"

"You're sick Sakura!!" Naruto screamed, jumping off the stump and running away.

"Ditto," Sasuke agreed and followed Naruto, abandoning Sakura.

Sasuke ran past Kakashi as he was arriving but barely realized he was there. Kakashi looked at Sakura who was sitting by a stump in a daze. He waited until she told him the problem.

"Kakashi-sensei? I think I need 'help.'"

"Did you just realize that now?"

…..

Sasuke ran away to the little bridge where they usually went to receive missions. He leaned on the railing and gasped for breath. Sakura just kissed him! His second kiss and this time it wasn't an accident or a boy. He didn't know why he felt like he enjoyed it.

_Crap. I'm falling in love! No! Not love! Not Sakura!_

Sasuke felt his face grow hot. He touched his lips where Sakura had kissed him. He hadn't resented it as much as he thought he would. He managed a smile. He never had a crush before. He never had warm feelings for others, especially girls.

_Wow. It's not that bad. All this time I thought relationships were pointless and disgusting. I was wrong. Hm…I was right. Since Naruto and Hinata got together…nothing's the same._

**A/N: Hinata likes Naruto, Sakura likes Naruto, Sasuke likes Sakura, and Naruto used to like Sakura. I think that sounds like a love rectangle. Rectangle sounds better than square! This is sort of my early Valentine's Day gift to all my readers!!**


	2. NO More Sakura

**A/N: Okay!! I'm back!! I'd meant to finish this fic by Valentine's Day but that obviously didn't work out to well. I was very discouraged by this fic when no one reviewed the prequel or the first chapter of this fic so I wasn't really motivated to finish it. But now I'm determined to get all my In-Progress fics Complete!! I thought I submitted this chapter of the fic a **_**very **_**long time ago but apparently I didn't. This chapters not that great but I'm going to submit it anyway to help us all ease back into the story. I have some more ideas for this fic so a plot actually starts happening. Please review!!**

**Chapter II. "No More Sakura"  
**

"Did you just realized that now?' Who's side is he on anyway? I'm not going crazy. I've always planned on kissing Sasuke!"

_**Yeah but you never had the guts to do it.**_

"Shut up. What do you know?"

Sakura quietly argued with her Inner-Self on her way to the Konoha Mall. Kakashi had been to lazy to go after Naruto and Sasuke to bring them back for training so he canceled. Now she had nothing to do and decided to shop. She arrived to the quiet mall. Their weren't many people in the mall because it was a weekday. Everyone was at school or work. Good! She had the joint to herself. Sakura passed a little café and stopped. To her utter disgust, Naruto and Hinata were there. They were sharing a milkshake and laughing about something. She growled, her face feeling almost volcanic.

_That's my fan boy!!_

Sakura wondered whether to enter the café or not. What would she do if she did go in? She wished she could hear what they were talking about. Was Naruto sharing with Hinata how she'd "assaulted" Sasuke? Why else would they be laughin so much? Sakura longed to go in and eavesdrop but how could she if they saw her? A red-haired girl passed Sakura and she got an idea. Sakura made some hand signs and in a puff of smoke she transformed into the red-haired girl. She grinned and entered the café, sitting in the booth behind Naruto and Hinata.

"I hope she's okay."

"Her? I'd be hoping _he's _okay? If I'd been Sasuke I would have been traumatized!"

Just as I she'd thought. They were laughing at what she did to Sasuke at the Training Field. She blushed at her own desperation for Naruto's attention. She wondered why she didn't do that more often to Sasuke. She'd been his second kiss. She wondered if he loathed her or not for doing that to him. She'd enjoyed it so much though. Sakura shook her head. She was confusing herself. Who did she want? Sasuke or Naruto? She ignored the tug-of-war growing in her brain. She listened back to Naruto and Hinata's conversation again.

"Okay. Then, I hope he's okay. Why did she do that again?"

"I dunno! She's always like Sasuke but I've never seen her do that before. I think she's going crazy."

"Don't say that. Something bad might have happened and that's how she copes or…something…"

"Eh. Who cares? I'm not going to let her affect my life anymore. Its just you and me from now on. No more Sakura. I say cheers!"

"Cheers."

Naruto leaned over the table and gave Hinata a kiss. She smiled at him and they sipped some of the milkshake. Sakura's mouth went dry. Her knees shook. She got up and wobbled out of the café.

"_No more Sakura."_

That's what Naruto said. He wanted nothing to do with her. Why did that hurt so much? Why was she so desperate for Naruto's fawning? 

_Its not like I like Naruto or anything. Or do I?_

Sakura glanced back at Naruto and Hinata. They were laughing again. She couldn't imagine herself in Hinata's place. She couldn't imagine herself with Naruto. She didn't love Naruto. But, why did she feel this pain in her heart?

_I don't love Naruto. I'm not in love with Naruto! No way!_

Sakura's disguise exploded in a puff of smoke and she ran out of the mall.

"I love Sasuke! I need to see Sasuke. He'll make me feel better. I love Sasuke. I don't love Naruto. I LOVE SASUKE! I DON'T LOVE NARUTO!"

**A/N: Sorry bout shortness and suckiness but I had to get it up. I thought that I'd submitted it already but I looked back at the fic and realized there was only one chapter up. Next chapter will be longer and much much much better I promise!! Forgive me if it takes a while though I have one other fic I have to complete before I complete this one but I'm close to the end of that one so I should be able to work on this one more soon. Please review so I know you know I'm alive!! The authoress loves you!! XDXDXD**


	3. Complications

**Chapter III. "Complications"**

**A/N: Okydoky. I've finally finished "All Those Precious Seconds" so I'm going to dedicate the majority of my time to finishing this fic. I've finally got my thoughts and ideas together for this fic. My writing has matured **_**a lot **_**since the first two draft chapters. I'm going to make this fic a bit more serious and slightly more scandalous so the rating may possibly go up. We'll see what happens. This fic hadn't been my best work and has barely any reviews but I'm hoping my new style and strategy will attract more readers. Before we begin, I'd like to thank Rose Tiger for being the only person that liked this fic enough to send me PMs asking if I was ever going to finish XD Thanks for the support RT!! XD This chapter begins in Sakura's POV.**

Okay. So here's my problem. My problem is Hyuga Hinata and her relationship with my teammate Uzumaki Naruto. Ever since the Konoha Annual Christmas Party about two months ago, they've been going out. I really don't like either of them that much. Naruto's an annoying loud-mouth and Hinata's just so unbelievably pathetic. But my fan base has been dwindling lately. I'm in need of being adored. Its part of my plan to get Sasuke to like me. If I become just as popular as he is, then maybe he'll see me as an equal and want to go out with me someday. If I keep losing my fan boys, then my popularity will plummet and that bitch, Ino, will beat me! I wasn't about to let that happen!

**A/N: **Yeah this is sort of anti-Sakura so that's why she's such a bitch. Sakura fans beware!

It was the beginning of March. Spring was starting early. It had been about a week or so since I saw Naruto and Hinata "toasting my downfall." During that week I had been plotting my revenge. I was going to get Naruto back and teach Hinata a lesson. I arrived at the bridge to await my teammates. Sasuke was already there. He was _always _the first one there. I felt myself blushing when his onyx eyes fell on me. Sasuke had been looking at me strangely the past week. I couldn't tell if he was interested in my appearance or if he just thought I was a freak for practically raping him last week.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"

He didn't reply…as usual. His eyes narrowed a little bit and I couldn't tell if it was from anger or not but he turned away from me. I was a bit disappointed. I liked it when Sasuke looked at me. It made me feel…pretty. It wasn't long before Naruto and his girlfriend arrived at the bridge. She always accompanied him to training. I gave her a glare but, as usual, she was to busy making gaga eyes at Naruto to notice. It was disgusting the way they acted with one another!

"I'll see you later," Hinata told him.

"I won't stop thinking about you for a second," Naruto replied.

"Me neither," Hinata giggled.

They kissed and she _finally _went her own way. Thank God! Maybe if she quit sucking face with Naruto she would focus more on her own training and actually be a decent kuinoichi. Naruto approached us, a goofy smile plastered on his face. That look was becoming all to familiar. He always walked away from Hinata with a smile. What was so freaking great about her? She wasn't pretty; she wasn't popular; she wasn't fun, smart, or strong! What the hell did he see in her!?

"Morning guys!" Naruto greeted us.

That was my cue. It was time for me to put phase one of my plan into action. I was bound to win Naruto back this way. Sure it would take some time to get through my plot but I was willing to be patient. I knew it was inevitable that Naruto would fall for me again. I put my sexy face on. Time to go to work.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

**Sasuke's POV**

Sakura had been worrying me lately. The day she jumped on me had really caught me off guard. It had also triggered some strange feelings inside of me. I had never really liked Sakura but that kiss had struck a chord. I mean, I know that kiss had something to do with getting back at Naruto or something but it certainly didn't feel that way. I'm still unsure of how Sakura's attracted to me. I can't tell if its only physical or if there's something more. Everyone thinks I have something against people which, I agree, is only _partly _true. I wouldn't mind a girlfriend so long as she liked me for me and not for my looks or popularity or whatever girls usually like in a guy. I'm usually not a people person but I do have feelings. And Sakura's kiss had brought to life some feelings that I didn't understand.

I'd been trying to figure out her intentions all week. For the past few days she'd been unusually quiet and her eyes were always on Naruto. That really confused me. I had always gotten the impression that she disliked Naruto…a lot. But ever since Naruto started dating Hinata, Sakura had been watching him and acting differently towards him. I won't lie. It made me feel…possessive and…jealous. Yeah you heard me. The emotionless Uchiha Sasuke is jealous that Haruno Sakura has eyes for Uzumaki Naruto. Things had really changed in the past few months. I blame Tsunade and her damn Chrismtas party. It seemed the changes had started after that. After all, that _was _where Naruto had first kissed Hinata. I always new mistletoe led to trouble.

I watched Sakura carefully and discreetly once Naruto arrived that day. A mixture of emotions inhabited her face that day. First was joy as she arrived at the bridge. Okay so she still liked me. I could see lust in her eyes when she looked at me. Well that was no good. Lust was not a part of my girlfriend's personality. When Naruto approached with Hinata, anger and disgust played on her face. I don't know what her problem was. I thought they were sweet. It was good that Naruto had finally found someone who wasn't afraid of him. As shocking as it may sound, I was happy for him. Naruto deserved someone like Hinata after all the taunting he'd been through.

Sakura's next look after Hinata left was…sensual let's say. A sly smirk tweaked her lips and her eyelids fell down a little. She was really making me nervous. Sakura could be bitchy at times but she was no slut. What was going on with her?

"Morning guys!"

Naruto gave us his usual greeting. Sakura's greeting was not usual, however.

"Good morning Naruto."

Naruto didn't look back at her but I could see the freaked out look in his eyes as he passed me. Sakura had said those words very huskily and seductively. It was very un-Sakura-like. Like I said, she could be a bitch, but never a slut. I glanced at her, trying not to make it to obvious that I was worried about her. She leaned against the bridge railing. She propped her elbows on the rail and stretched her legs out, crossing them at the ankles. Her eyes remained on Naruto as he took his place beside me against the railing. I glanced back at him. He was still a bit freaked and he couldn't stop himself from shooting her a few curious glances.

"So," Sakura began, that same husky note to her voice. "Naruto? What are you going to be working on in training today?"

I could see that Naurto was wary of Sakura. He was no longer willing to throw his life before he when she asked. Now, whenever she asked, he thought she had some sort of agenda. I didn't blame him. I wasn't letting my guard down either.

"I'll probably just work on my taijutsu. I still need to get faster," he answered, watching her carefully.

"Taijutsu again?" Sakura said, a whining sound in her voice. "Don't you have any super cool new ninjutsu to practice?"

"Well…if Kakashi-sensei will let me…I might practice my Rasengan a little--"

"Ooooo! Rasengan! That's my favorite technique of yours! Its so powerful and destructive. Its so amazing that you're strong enough to handle that kind of power."

As she said that she faced Naruto, propping her chin in one of her hands. I felt invisible. Even though I was standing directly between them, Sakura looked right around me to Naruto, that same lusting look in her eyes. Usually, I could care les show Sakura acted around Naruto but honestly? This was pissing me off. I was starting to have feelings for Sakura and now she seemed to be feeling something freakish for Naruto! Nothing could ever be easy in life could it? Luckily, Kakashi came to the rescue.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

No one even gave him a second glance. Sakura was fixated on Naruto and Naruto and I were fixated on Sakura.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

**Normal POV**

Kakashi glanced between his students, confused as to why he wasn't being yelled at for being late like always. He noticed that Sakura actually seemed…slutty and Naruto and Sasuke actually seemed…scared and/or freaked out. But what shocked Kakashi the most was that Slutty Sakura wasn't looking at Sasuke like he would assume. She was actually looking at Naruto!

"Uhh…I don't want to know. Come on guys. Let's get to training."

Naruto left the bridge first, closely followed by Sakura and then Sasuke. There wasn't even a greeting for Kakashi.

_Teen angst, _Kakashi sighed in his mind. _This isn't going to be pretty._

That day of training was full of flirting and mishaps. Absolutely no one was focused on practice. Kakashi was a perv so there was no way he could ignore the way Sakura was acting. He attempted to bury himself in his book and reminded himself he was way to old for her. He didn't want to be a pedophile.

Naruto was on his toes. He tried to multi-task. He kept one eye on Sakura and one on his training dummy. _Both _of Sakura's eyes were on Naruto however. She never once glanced at Sasuke which actually disappointed the Uchiha. He hadn't realized until recently that he enjoyed Sakura's praise and attention. Instead, Sakura commented on everything Naruto did. Every time she spoke to him he jumped and screwed up his technique. Then Sakura would just giggle and he started over. Hoping to place the boys' attention on one another, Kakashi announced the sparring was about to begin.

"Okay guys. You know the rules. Taijutsu only. And let's try not to put one another in the hospital."

Kakashi could tell no one was listening to him. Though their eyes were on one another, Kakashi could see Naruto and Sasuke's pupils moving ever so slightly towards Sakura. She was leaning against one of the tree stumps, eyes glued to Naruto, that same smirk on her face.

"Okay guys. Begin!"

Sasuke made the first move by aiming a kunai for Naruto's shoulder. Naruto dodged but barely. The kunai tore his jacket but he managed to save his skin. He had been to distracted by Sakura's lusting eyes and had missed Kakashi's command. He turned his attention to Sasuke. That kunai had been his warning shot. Whether it was a warning to start focusing or to stop staring at Sakura, neither he nor Kakashi could tell. Kakashi glanced down at Sakura. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. That same slutty aura surrounded her. Naruto could see something deep in Sasuke's obsidian eyes that was animalistic and possessive. A smirk played its way onto Naruto's face. He got into his competitive stance.

The two boys circled one another, competing for dominance and Sakura's eyes. Naruto always wanted to earn the approval of his comrades. He wanted to impress Sakura not for her slutty affections, but for her respect. The same went for Kakashi and Sasuke. He wanted to be seen as an equal in his team. Sasuke wanted to win Sakura's heart back. He didn't understand why she was so intent on Naruto but he was going to change that.

Naruto went on the offensive and charged towards Sasuke. The Uchiha dodged easily, watching Naruto's every move carefully. Naruto aimed his punches at Sasuke's face. Once Sasuke figured that out, he ducked down and tried to shoulder Naruto in the stomach. The blonde jumped back to avoid the blow.

"Way to go Naruto!" Sakura called.

When Sasuke saw the slightly proud smile on Naruto's face, something snapped inside of him. He instantly took over the offensive position while Naruto was distracted. He swung his leg out and kicked Naruto's feet out from under him. The blonde tumbled to the ground. Before the Uchiha could pounce, Naruto rolled over and jumped to his feet. He prepared to hit Sasuke while his back was turned but the Uchiha was faster. Sasuke spun around and punched Naruto in the face. He stumbled back from the impact and Sasuke pinned him to the ground. By placing a kunai above his throat, Sasuke had achieved the winning stance. Naruto was confused by the Uchiha's sudden aggression until he saw the anger and jealousy in his dark eyes. Sasuke was jealous? Of what? Sakura paying attention to him? Sasuke twitched and suddenly backed away from Naruto with a yelp. Naruto sat up and noticed Sasuke's hand was clamped against his neck. It was that damn Curse Mark that he'd received two years ago. It only acted up when Sasuke strained himself or got to angry. Tsunade still couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. Kakashi was at Sasuke's side in an instant.

"Sasuke. Are you okay?"

It took Sasuke a moment before he nodded and relaxed.

"Good job today team. We're done here."

Sasuke left the Training Field in a hurry. Kakashi watched him go, a worried look in his eyes. He then turned to help Naruto up.

"Good job Naruto. You're getting better. If Sasuke hadn't lost control it would have been close."

"You think?"

"Yeah, keep it up and…"

He glanced at Sakura before whispering, "…Be careful."

Kakashi left the Training Field and Naruto glanced at Sakura. She had been watching Sasuke leave with concern in her eyes. For the first time that day he could actually see a bit of Normal Sakura. But the second she saw him watching her, it was back to Slutty Sakura. What was going on with her?

"See something you like?"

Naruto's face went on fire but he kept his cool.

"Uh…no. I have to go."

But Sakura followed him as he left.

"You did great today," she commented.

"Uh…thanks?"

"I've never seen Sasuke lose his cool like that before. You must have really scared him."

_That definitely wasn't it, _Naruto thought.

What the hell was she saying? Luckily, Naruto was saved when Hinata came running towards him. His mood instantly lightened when he saw her waving and smiling. But Sakura put a dark cloud on that mood. He hadn't noticed how close he'd been standing to him. He felt her hot breath on his neck as she leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered, lips brushing his ear.

He felt himself sweating and new his face must have been beat red. Sakura turned to leave, purposely brushing against him as she did. Naruto restrained himself from watching her go and instead watched his girlfriend run up to him. He watched her smile instantly turn down into a frown and her silver eyes fill with worry and questions.

"Naruto? What's going on?" Hinata asked once she reached him.

"Nothing! Everything's fine! Its been a rough day. We should go, like, now!"

The words fumbled out of Naruto's mouth in a rush and he dragged Hinata away. Sakura watched them go. She watched Naruto glanced back at her. She smiled and waved at him. He hurriedly looked away but Hinata didn't. Sakura met her nervous eyes with a cruel glare and mouthed the words, "He's mine."

**A/N: Okay. I need to clarify a few things. This takes place around the time Shippuden would have started but Sasuke didn't leave. They're all 16 in this fic and everything in the first series has happened except Sasuke leaving. Any questions just ask! XD This fic is going to contain loads of Sakura skankiness so if you like Sakura you may want to leave. Also I was playing with POVs this chapter but I think from now on I'm keeping this fic in Normal POV. That's all. Please people REVIEW!!**


	4. Distractions

**Chapter. IV. "Distractions"**

The following day, things really started getting serious in reference to the Team 7 drama. It was another beautiful spring day. Sasuke arrived at the bridge first at 7:30 AM. He had lost sleep last night over Sakura's behavior yesterday. He had spent most of his time last night milling over his conflicted feelings about Sakura and Naruto. He had planned on confronting her about it when she arrived that morning before Naruto and Kakashi came. But when 8:00 AM came and Sakura didn't show, it threw Sasuke's plan way off. Sakura was always at the bridge at 8:00 AM sharp and no minute less. Sasuke tried to reassure himself by telling himself that maybe she felt guilty about her behavior and couldn't sleep last night so she was sleeping in. But when 8:30 AM came and Sakura still didn't show, Sasuke could not reassure himself any longer.

Sasuke spent a whole hour longer alone on the bridge before Naruto and Hinata arrived. He noticed Naruto's shocked yet relieved expression when he didn't see Sakura beside Sasuke. The Uchiha also saw relief wash over Hinata as well. Something must have happened yesterday and couldn't stay behind to see what Sakura did to Naruto. Sasuke noticed tension between the couple as they parted ways.

"I'll see you later?" Naruto asked Hinata.

She nodded but made no move to kiss him goodbye like she usually did. That worried Sasuke. Naruto leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Naruto watched her go her own way with longing in his eyes. Sasuke averted his eyes when Naruto came to stand beside him on the bridge. He didn't want to look nosy. A few awkward minutes passed. Naruto and Sasuke were never usually alone on the bridge.

"Hey."

Sasuke glanced up at Naruto. It wasn't like him to strike up a conversation. Naruto was gnawing on his lip and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Yesterday…" Naruto began, "…did you notice anything…different about Sakura?"

"You mean how she was acting like a whore and hitting on you? Yeah. I noticed."

Sasuke really hadn't meant to sound that jealous but he let his feelings get the better of him. He looked away from his teammate when he turned his cerulean gaze onto him. Oh great. Naruto had heard that jealous note. Another pause consumed them.

"So…what do you think is wrong with her?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke thought about it. He really didn't know so he made up something to put Naruto's mind at ease as well as his own.

"Hormones…maybe…"

"_Hormones_? Shouldn't she be channeling that towards you?"

"You mean…you weren't enjoying what she was doing yesterday?"

"No. At one time I would have but…I have a girlfriend now that I have real feelings for. None of my feelings for Sakura were real. Only physical."

"And none of those old feelings sparked up yesterday?"

"No. She just made me uncomfortable. Why are you asking so many questions?"

Sasuke hesitated to answer. Should he tell Naruto the truth? That he was worried about his teammates? He still had an image to uphold. He didn't want Naruto to start thinking he was soft. Sasuke decided to remain silent. That was a common thing for him. Naruto sighed in frustration. He hated when Sasuke broke off like that. Another awkward silence passed. Where the hell was Sakura?

"So…uh…how long do you think this hormone thing will last?"

"Hey guys."

"How the hell should I know? I'm not a girl!"

Sasuke had answered before he heard Kakashi. The two boys turned to their sensei who just stared at them.

"What is with you kids this week? First you're acting like hookers, the next thing is talking about hormones. What is up?"

"Sakura," they said simultaneously, looking past their sensei.

"Ah yes. Speaking of which, where is my little prostitute in the making?"

Naruto pointed, mouth agape past Kakashi. Kakashi followed the hand and dropped his orange book in shock. There, strutting towards the bridge, was a whore that looked a lot like Haruno Sakura. She was dressed in red, as usual, but it wasn't the usual dress. She wore a red tube top that revealed her shoulders, collarbone, and the majority of her middle. Her skirt was a lighter red that fell halfway up her thigh. There were slits up either side of the thighs and a rose was embroidered on the right side. She wore black leather gloves and her usual blue sandals but beneath that she wore knee-high black socks. Her lips flared red and her eyes were highlighted in mascara and eye shadow.

"Morning boys. Ready for training?"

The poor boys of Squad 7 were stunned with shock and just stared with wide eyes and open mouths. Sakura smiled to herself. It would seem she'd done a good job. Sasuke was the first to break the silence. He looked away from Sakura in disgust and pushed past her in the direction of the Training Field. Sakura's proud smile vanished. She had been hoping to impress both Naruto _and _Sasuke. Had the astonishment she'd just seen on his face not been attraction? Had she mistakened his look of shock? Sakura turned back to Naruto and Kakashi. That was definitely the reaction she was going for. She decided to focus on Naruto first. Once she got him back, her popularity would skyrocket with the praise her spread about her. Then, snagging Sasuke would be a snap.

"Well? Aren't you coming?" she asked.

She turned and followed Sasuke, purposely swaying her hips in Naruto's direction. Naruto shook his head and averted his eyes. He had to restrain himself. He had to be better than the average man. He wouldn't stoop so low as to stare at another girl while he had a girlfriend. He followed Sakura at a slower pace so he'd be less likely to catch up with her. He'd have to avoid contact with her today. If only he was as impassive as Sasuke. If only he could resist the art of seduction so well. Kakashi shook himself out of his shock and picked up his book. He closed it and placed it in his kunai pouch. Today was definitely not a good day to read.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

The day progressed similarly to the previous day except their was more cleavage to help distract the boys. Naruto just tried to imagine Hinata and her smiling face that he loved so much so he wouldn't be tempted to look at Sakura. There were a few occasions where he had no choice but to look at her like when they sparred or when she snuck up on him. Naruto always found himself glancing at Sasuke when Sakura made a comment or got to close to him. There was always a deathly cold glare in his ebony eyes and Naruto was beginning to suspect that Sasuke was developing feelings for Sakura. Seeing her acting like such a slut for Naruto could really be pissing him off. When Kakashi finally announced that training was over, Naruto bolted away from the Training Field before Sakura could put on a spectacle for Hinata like yesterday. Sakura didn't go after him. She just smiled to herself and went her own way. She made it a point, though, to stay around long enough for Hinata to see her. Naruto rushed up to Hinata as she came up the path.

"Hi!" he greeted, leading her away from the Training Field.

"Naruto…We have to talk."

"Talk? Talk about what? Are we breaking up?"

"No! I mean, I hope not. Its just…"

Hinata glanced back at Sakura who was leaning against a tree and watching them go. Hinata's concern for Naruto doubled once she saw what Sakura was wearing. She was happy when she realized Naruto wasn't tempted to look back but it was barely reassuring. She squeezed his arm, trying to make him understand how she felt about this.

"Come on. I'll take you to lunch," he responded.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura was proud of herself. Everything was going according to plan. Tomorrow night would be the night she stole him back to her side. Sakura felt an icy gaze on her back and she turned to meet Sasuke's cool gaze. All her previous confidence about Naruto instantly faded and she was back to the nervous, fumbling girl she once was. Sasuke didn't miss the innocence that briefly sparked back into her jade eyes. For a moment, he recognized the girl standing before him as the girl he had been falling in love with. But aside from her eyes, she was not Sakura.

"Hey there Sasuke! Are you busy right now? We could go to lunch."

If she hadn't been wearing what she was wearing and she hadn't been acting the way she had around Naruto in the last few days, he would have said yes. He wouldn't have made up an excuse and miss this opportunity. But this girl wasn't Sakura. She wasn't the girl he loved. He saw her face fall just before he turned and walked away.

Sakura was confused and discouraged. Sasuke was usually more polite when he rejected her. She was used to his "Sorry. I'm busy. Thanks though" excuse. The look in his eyes as he looked at her had done something to her heart. He had looked betrayed and disgusted. Did she disgust him? She looked down at herself. This hadn't been for Sasuke. It had been solely for Naruto and to gain his appreciation. Impressing Sasuke and Kakashi had been a bonus. But it seemed Sasuke wasn't impressed. The reaction she'd seen earlier must have been in disgust after all.

_No matter, _she thought. _My plan is almost complete. Soon I won't have to wear this anymore. Once Naruto worships me again, I'll get Sasuke as well_

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Naruto and Hinata quietly sipped a milkshake at their new favorite café. Naruto had answered all of Hinata's worried questions about Sakura. He explained everything that she had done within the past few days and had explained he wasn't affected by her attempts to his heart. He reassured her that he only had eyes for her and that nothing would or ever happened with Sakura.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" she suddenly asked, unable to help herself.

Naruto reached across the table and took her hands. He looked directly into her silver eyes and told her the absolute truth.

"I promise that nothing Haruno Sakura says or does will affect our relationship. I love _you_, not Sakura."

Hinata gave him a smile and nodded.

"If you say nothing will happen, then I'll just have to trust you."

Naruto smiled at the trust and kindness in her eyes. He prayed Sakura wouldn't drive them apart. He really liked Hinata. She was good for him. He cherished seeing her happy and enjoyed her company. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her because Sakura decided to turn into a whore. He leaned over the table and gave her a reassuring kiss. They finished their shake and headed home. The sun was setting on that long and tedious day. Naruto couldn't wait for his head to hit the pillows. He walked Hinata home first. Since he'd been dating her, he'd become quite the gentleman. If he wasn't, then Hiashi would kill him. He really wanted to keep Hinata. He couldn't let Sakura or anyone else ruin this for him.

"Good night Naruto," she said as she was standing at the front gate of the Hyuga estate.

"Good night. And hey. Don't worry about this Sakura thing. I'm going to try and talk to her and get her to back off."

"O-Oh. You're going to talk to her?"

Naruto noticed the worry in her voice. It took him a moment to figure out why. Him plus Sakura plus being alone and together would equal disaster.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get Sasuke to help me out."

"Sasuke? What does he have to do with any of this?"

Naruto glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear him speak his suspicions.

"Well…don't tell anyone…but I think he may have a crush on her."

Hinata didn't look as surprised as he thought she would.

"How are you going to get him to help?"

"I don't know. Probably just to back me up and possibly admit his feelings. If Sakura knows Sasuke likes her, she'll have no interest in me whatsoever. I still can't figure out what's with the sudden change. She's never taken an interest in me before."

He sighed and ran a hand through his blonde spikes. Hinata squeezed his arm reassuringly.

"You go get some rest. You need it."

"Thanks. Good night."

"Good night."

They kissed good night and Naruto went home, keeping an eye on the shadows for fear of being attacked by a whore.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Naruto flopped down onto his bed with a happy sigh. It was a relief to be home where it was safe and skank free. He breathed in the aroma of his favorite food as it cooked in the microwave. No worries…until the knock on his door came. Naruto had been wary of opening his door to anyone ever since the Akatsuki had tried to abduct him. Of course, that was in Tanzaku Town. He was in Konohagakure. There was no way in hell Akatsuki could sneak in. Still, Naruto proceeded with caution because of the late hour. Who would be up at this time? Pedophiles, that's who! Naruto answered the door on the second knock and immediately put his guard up when he saw her. Sakura was leaning in the doorway with a seductive smile on her face.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?"

Unfazed by his lack of greeting, Sakura offered her an envelope.

"Lady Tsunade had had me handing these out all day."

"What is it?"

"An invitation."

"To what?"

"Open it and find out."

Naruto did as she said, keeping one eye on her as he did so.

The invitation read:

_Spring Equinox Celebration_

_March 20_

_5:00PM-12:00AM_

_Hokage Ballroom_

_Celebrate the coming of Spring as we welcome it into Konohagakure_

_Food and drink will be available_

_Come and have fun!_

_Well that was lame, _Naruto thought. _She couldn't come up with anything more exciting to write? _

"So. Are you going to go?"

"Sounds like a good time. It'll be another fun opportunity for me and Hinata."

Naruto purposely mentioned his girlfriend in front of Sakura just to see her reaction. He saw her emerald eyes sharpen a tad bit otherwise she didn't move.

"You busy?" she suddenly asked.

Naruto watched her carefully and chose his words precisely.

"Why?"

"You hungry?"

"No," he lied.

He noticed her nostrils flare a bit and knew she could smell the ramen.

"Why don't we go for a walk?"

"No thanks. Its late. You should get home."

Naruto started to shut the door but she stopped it with her hand. That aggression freaked him out.

"Are you sure? Ichiraku might still be open. We could catch the last bowl."

"I said no Sakura! Good night!"

Naruto managed to slam the door closed and lock it. He waited until he heard her footsteps fading away into the night before he let out a huge sigh of frustration. He looked down at the invitation. Was it a legit invited or some fantasy party she'd made up to trap him? There was no way she was that sadistic…or was she?

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura was feeling confident as she went down the streets to the next person on the invite list. Soon, she'd have both Naruto and Sasuke. She was on her way to Sasuke's house now to give him an invitation. However, someone had beat her there. She froze in her tracks when she recognized a familiar blonde slut talking to Sasuke on his doorstep. She missed the first part of their conversation but she caught enough of the end to understand what was happening.

"Its going to be a blast. Lady Hokage is a great party planner! That Christmas party was loads of fun wasn't it?"

Sakura noticed that Sasuke was looking past Ino at her. Of course, Ino was to busy babbling to notice. She could see conflict raging in Sasuke's obsidian eyes as he gazed at her. She saw hurt and anger and a deep sadness she couldn't identify. There was something else as well: something that was daring her to do something; something that was begging her to do something. She didn't know what he was asking for and apparently that wasn't a good enough excuse for Sasuke.

"Yes."

His eyes were on her as he said it but when Ino questioned him, Sakura realized he had nothing to say to her.

"What?" Ino asked.

"Yes," he repeated.

"Yes to what?"

"To the question you came here to ask. The only reason you wandered out here was to ask if I was free on Saturday. So sure. I'll got to this party with you."

"REALLY!!?"

Ino's squeal was so high-pitched, Sakura thought her ears would start bleeding.

"Wear something black," Sasuke ordered her.

"Anything for you Sasuke-kun!! You won't regret this. I'll see you Saturday!!"

Ino skipped down the path towards Sakura. This was obviously the first time Ino had noticed Sakura was there. She must have thought she just arrived.

"Too late Billboard Brow! Maybe if you didn't obsess over your looks, you would have made it here faster. Nice outfit by the way…Skankura," she snickered before bubbling away.

Sakura hadn't really been listening to Ino. She gazed at Sasuke who hadn't yet shut his door. She didn't know if that as a signal that he still wanted her to come in or not. His eyes were cold and hurt as he gazed out at her.

"She's right you know," he suddenly said. "If you hadn't turned into a slut, I would have taken you."

Sasuke closed the door and left her cold, alone, and heartbroken. What had she done?

**A/N: Okay. This fic is sorta being inspired by this movie coming out soon called "Obsessed." It stars Beyonce Knowles and an girl from "Heroes" that I can't remember the name of. But I keep seeing so many previews as I'm writing this fic so from the previews its based on. I hope you're all enjoying this fic! I'm having fun writing it! XD PLEASE REVIEW!! I was so happy when I got like five reviews for the last chapter aside from one. XD See you next chapter!!**


	5. Betrayed

**Chapter V. "Betrayed"**

**Disclaimer:** The song used in this chapter is titled "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne.

The next day, everyone was different. Sasuke was late to the bridge. In fact, Naruto was the first one to the bridge for the first time. He felt freaked out as he stood on the bridge alone. This had never happened before. He was _never _the first one to the bridge…_ever_! Hinata was shocked as well when she walked Naruto there.

"Naruto, where is everyone?"

"I don't know. Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything about meeting someplace else."

"Well, do you want me to wait with you until they come?"

"You have your own training to get to. You don't have to wait with me."

Hinata was a little disappointed by Naruto's rejection but then rethought it and realized Naruto was just looking out for her.

"Okay. I'll see you later," Hinata said, giving him her signature good-bye kiss.

Luckily, Naruto only waited half an hour before Kakashi showed up. Kakashi was actually earlier than he usually was.

"Naruto? Where is everyone?"

"I don't know. I thought you might know."

"No."

They waited a few minutes to give Sasuke and Sakura a last chance to show up. Sasuke arrived five minutes after Kakashi but he was different. He was dressed in all black opposed to his blue and white attire. He wore a ripped, black T-shirt, a black, torn jacket, long, black jeans that dragged on the ground, black army-like shoes, and he wore his hitai-ate(sp?) around the upper part of his right arm. The new look was very edgy but flexible enough so he could move well in training.

"Sasuke? Why were you so late?" Kakashi asked.

"I was no later than you usually are," Sasuke retorted.

Sasuke could be cocky and spiteful at times but he was usually respectful to Kakashi. His voice sounded sharp and fresh. It was slightly un-Sasuke-like. Kakashi didn't seem to mind though.

"Fair enough. Any idea where Sakura is?"

"Why the hell would I know where that bitch is?"

Stunned silence enveloped Kakashi and Naruto. Had Sasuke really just said that? Did he really just call Sakura a bitch out loud? That went against everything the gentlemanly code stood for! The two boys were to shocked to scold him. Sasuke leaned heavily against the bridge railing and looked down so his raven bangs hid his face. The bridge was silent as they waited for Sakura to arrive, but, she never did. The sun had reached the center of the sky and Kakashi could wait no longer.

"Okay guys. It looks like we'll have an all guys training session today. If Sakura shows up she'll know where to find us."

"And if she doesn't show up?" Naruto asked.

"Well then I guess I'll have to go to her house and see what's wrong. Come on. Let's make the most of the little time we have left to train."

Despite his recent hatred towards Sakura, Naruto was worried about her. Had he upset her when he slammed the door in her face? Sasuke was thinking the same thing. He was in a bad mood today because of what occurred last night and he had hoped Sakura would see what her behavior was doing to him and stop. But now she wasn't here and he was worried that he had hurt her more than he intended with his actions last night.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Dark clouds were rolling in by the time the boys were done with training. Sakura still hadn't shown up. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance and the first crisp drops of rain began falling to the ground.

"That's all for today guys. Now get lost before you get soaked."

Naruto sprinted away from the Training Field but Sasuke walked calmly away. Rain didn't bug him. In fact, he welcomed it. Naruto ran to get Hinata. Hiashi would _kill _him if he found a single drop of rain on his daughter's head. The rain started pouring down.

"Damn it!" Naruto cussed to himself.

The clouds in the sky made it dark and the rain curtained his vision. It was hard to see where he was going. He noticed someone up ahead on the pathway he was on.

"Hinata?" he called.

The rain was beating down on him and it was hard to see who was on the path. The sky rumbled again and this time there was lightning to accompany it. The lightning illuminated the person ahead of him and he got chills when he recognized the cotton candy pink hair.

"Sakura? Are you okay?"

Naruto approached her with caution. She was unusually quiet and still. She was dressed in the same whorish attire as yesterday. She looked freezing and lost.

"What the hell are you doing here Sakura? You could catch hypothermia or something."

His experience with Hinata had given him the instinct to give her his jacket even though he really didn't like her much.

"Come on. Let's get you home."

Naruto took her elbow and gave her a tug but she didn't budge.

"Naruto…"

Her voice frightened Naruto. It was hollow and raspy like she'd been screaming all day. He met her jade gaze and noticed how bloodshot her eyes were. It was obvious that the water on her face wasn't only rain.

"Sakura…what happened to you?"

Her eyes had been empty but now filled with fright.

"I-I don't know," she said, desperation in her voice. "This wasn't supposed to happen. All I wanted was you and Sasuke. I didn't want to be the whore of Konoha!"

She was in hysterics now and Naruto knew for sure that this was no joke. She definitely wasn't faking this. Naruto was nervous.

"Okay. Just calm down. Everything's going to be fine."

She was hyperventilating and her eyes darted to and fro. She looked like an insane person and Naruto was half positive she may possibly be on something. He had to be careful. He didn't know how to deal with an insane person.

"Sakura. Look at me. Everything's going to be fine. I can help you."

"Naruto. I screwed up. I messed it up so bad!"

She broke off into sobs and dropped her head into her hands. What was Naruto supposed to do? Very hesitantly, Naruto wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her close to him. She seemed to relax a tiny bit. It felt incredibly awkward to be holding her so close. He didn't feel anything. He felt concerned and scared for her but other than that there was nothing. He was no longer in love with Sakura. He felt guilty that it wasn't Hinata in his arms but it would be wrong not to comfort Sakura when she was so messed up. She was still his teammate under all that whore.

"Naruto…how could you possibly want to do this?" Sakura sniffled. "I hurt you. I hurt Sasuke. I hurt Hinata. I hurt everybody! Why don't you hate me?"

"Well…nobody's perfect. We all make mistakes."

"You always understood me."

Sakura drew away a little so she could meet his eyes which was a bad idea. The second their eyes met, sparks flew. Old feelings Naruto had thought had died long ago resurfaced. He tried to kill them. He tried to fill his head with images of Hinata as Sakura drew closer to him. His hands trembled around her waist and every fiber of his being was fighting to run away. If he ran and left her there, he could avoid this approaching kiss and never have a spot on his record with Hinata. But if he left Sakura there in the rain, anything could happen to her while she was in such a fragile state. Despite how cruel she'd been to him, he still cared about her and he didn't want to see her hurt. He couldn't leave. He prayed Hinata would understand as her soft lips fell against his own.

_I'm standin' on the bridge_

_I'm waitin' in the dark_

_I thought that you'd be here by now_

_There's nothing but the rain_

_No footsteps on the ground_

_I'm listening but there's no sound_

Hinata ran for cover from the pounding rain. She headed for the Training Field to meet Naruto. She was running late and hoped Sakura wasn't making a move on him while she wasn't there. It was hard to see through the curtain of rain so when she saw something up ahead she thought she'd imagined it. But as she drew closer, the shapes became more distinct. She stopped in her tracks when she recognized the two figures. She had been to late. Sakura had beaten her. She knew she wasn't imagining it even though she begged that she was. She was stunned. She didn't know what to do. She waited to see if Naruto would push her away and defend his relationship with her. But he didn't. In fact, it almost looked like he held her closer. Hinata felt her heart shatter and her body moved without her command. She could have run over and screamed at them. She could have beaten Sakura off of her boyfriend. But she didn't. Instead, she turned and ran.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

_It's a damn cold night_

_I'm tryin' to figure out this life_

_Won't you take me by the hand?_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm, I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

_Hmm hmm hmm_

Usually, Sasuke wouldn't bother bringing an umbrella on his walks through the rain. But, for some reason, something told him to bring an umbrella. He _hated _umbrellas. The rain pounding down on top of it always gave him such a headache but something would not let him toss it. For some reason he knew the rain without an umbrella. Sasuke loved thunderstorms. The rain in his hair was like music to him. Who needed iPods when you had thunderstorms to listen to is what he always said.

However, Sasuke heard something that interfered with his weather orchestra. He stopped and listened. Yeah. There it was again. A small whimper that probably only he had the experience to hear. Sasuke followed the small sound until he found the source huddled beneath a tree. At first glance, Sasuke didn't recognize Hyuga Hinata. He stared at her for a bit and doubted she was aware of his presence. He didn't have to ask to figure out what was making her cry. Naruto had screwed up and either slept with or kissed Sakura and Hinata and held the umbrella over her head.

She started when the rain suddenly stopped around her. She looked up at Sasuke. Her silver eyes were distant and confused and it seemed like she was looking through him. She was in shock. He could tell that whatever she had seen had hit her hard. The overbearing agony of heartbreak hadn't yet registered yet. She couldn't be alone once that hit her. Sasuke knew what a broken heart could do to someone. She could hurt herself or someone she loved. Even though Sasuke barely knew her, he knew he couldn't leave her alone. He put his best reassuring smile on which was hard since he hadn't used it in a while.

"Its not the smartest idea to sit in the middle of a thunderstorm. Anything could happen."

She still just stared at him, confused as to why he of all people was standing before her. He offered her his hand which confused her even more.

"You're going to catch you death if you stay out here. Come with me and I'll get you dried up."

Hinata still stared at his hand. He waited. He was patient with her. He knew she would need some time. He wasn't Naruto after all. He wasn't the person she wanted to see. He understood that but still felt obliged to help her. After all, she was just like him. Hinata's hand moved, involuntarily towards Sasuke's offered hand. She didn't know why, but there was something about him that was calming her down and drawing her in. Her hand stopped just above his. Something inside her reminded her that this wasn't Naruto. This wasn't the man she loved. But this was the man that wanted to help her. Naruto no longer cared for her. If he cared about her It would be him standing before her. She laid her hand in Sasuke's.

_I'm looking for a place_

_I'm searching for a face_

_Is anybody here I know?_

_'Cause nothing's going right_

_And everything's a mess_

_And no one likes to be alone_

The walk to Sasuke's house seemed unreal. Hinata felt strange walking so close to him. He didn't have his arm around her or anything but he wanted to give her all the shelter of the umbrella. Instinct told her not to allow him to stand in the rain. He was an Uchiha. He was pretty much of royal blood and she was a nobody. If anyone should be unsheltered from the rain it should be her. So she walked closer to him so he would be forced to hold the umbrella somewhat over his head as well. Sasuke would have moved away as a sign he insisted that she take up the umbrella space but he decided against fighting her on it. He knew that was the last thing she needed.

Hinata almost didn't realize it when they arrived at Sasuke's house. She was aware of a door clicking and the loss of the beating rain above her head. Sasuke folded the umbrella and placed it in the umbrella rack. Hinata noticed he didn't take off his sneakers as he led her into the house. He sat her down on his black couch and she barely noticed when he left. He came back so fast it was almost like he hadn't left. She was aware of a warm, dry towel on her head and him drying her off. They were both silent and listened to the rain pattering on the roof of the house.

"It'll get better," Sasuke suddenly said.

Hinata gave him a questioning look.

"It feels like the world's coming to an end right now. But, just give it a few days and you'll feel better. I promise."

Hinata finally found her voice again and managed to speak to him. Her voice was hollow though and void of emotion.

"How would you know?" she asked. "You didn't love someone for years and then finally got feelings in return. You never had someone that promised they loved you and only you and then turned right around and betrayed you."

"Actually, I did."

Hinata looked up at him and, for the first time, met his onyx gaze. Being the quiet girl, she always heard the other girls' conversations about Uchiha Sasuke. They always described his eyes as "dark pool of mystery and lust." They didn't know what they were talking about. There was nothing mysterious about Uchiha Sasuke's eyes. She could read every emotion swimming in the depths of his eyes. She could see turmoil, rage, hurt, betrayal, longing, and darkness. The only thing he was lusting for was revenge and a family. For a moment, she'd forgotten about the Uchiha clan's history.

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't be. I make it a point not to let anyone know my personal feelings about the event. You had no way of knowing."

"But still--"

"No buts. I know what you're going through right now Hinata. You're going to say things that you don't mean but I promise I won't take them to heart."

Hinata didn't know Sasuke very well but she'd always classified him as cold and detached. But there was nothing cold or detached about him. He was actually kind and understanding.

"How did it feel?" she asked without thinking.

"Life-shattering," he immediately answered before she could apologize.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

_It's a damn cold night_

_I'm tryin' to figure out this life_

_Won't you take me by the hand?_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm, I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

_Yea yea_

"I felt betrayed, deceived, lied to, stabbed in the heart…I wanted to scream for days and some nights I did. I screamed and cried when I was alone. I beat up a few kids at school when I was angry. I broke a lot of things in my house. I tore up pictures of him and burned anything that reminded me of him. It was bad. I had to go to therapy for a month or so before they let me back into school. They thought I was a danger to the other students."

Hinata was crushed. Here she was, crying over a little kiss in front of a man that had watched his family die by the hand of his own brother. Sasuke found it difficult to talk about his childhood but he had to talk about something. He remembered that was all he wanted after the massacre. All he had wanted was someone to talk to. All he had wanted was for someone to understand. He had wanted someone who had suffered the same as he had. Hinata needed the same. She just didn't realize it. He had never gotten that someone who understood him. He didn't want Hinata to be alone like he had.

"You have people left that love you," Sasuke continued. "You don't have to end up like me. You have people that will do whatever it takes to see you happy. Its like I said before, give it a few days and you'll be happy again."

"No."

Sasuke recognized that tone in her voice. The hysteria was finally kicking in. It came on very suddenly and unless you had experienced it yourself, you would never be able to see it coming.

"No. I'll never be happy again," she started sobbing.

Sasuke kept a steady hand on her shoulder.

"He was the only thing I cared about!" she cried. "I trusted him and he lied to me! He promised me everything was okay and that nothing would happen with her! I can't go back to loving him from a distance. I'd rather die than be the shy girl again!"

Sasuke saw the kunai on the coffee table the same time she did.

_Oh, why is everything so confusing?_

_Maybe I'm just out of my mind_

_Yea eee yeah, yea eee yeah_

_Yea yee yea, yea eee yeah,yeah_

Hinata lunged for the knife but Sasuke grabbed her before she could touch it. He pulled her back onto the couch and kicked the knife as far away from her as possible. She struggled against him and started screaming but he held onto her. He remembered how destructive he had been. He had nearly killed himself the first night he was alone. He didn't want Hinata to do the same. It took a few minutes before Hinata settled into rib racking sobs. Sasuke held her and let her cry in her arms. He laid his head on top of hers and murmured things he would have wanted to here. She reminded him of himself the night after the massacre. He barely knew Hyuga Hinata but, as he sat there, listening to her heartbroken sobs, he felt like he'd known her his whole life.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Naruto ran through the storm. It was getting worse. Hinata hadn't been on the path or the place she usually went for training so he assumed she'd gone home after he failed to show up. He'd taken Sakura home once she'd calmed down. He could feel her lips against his and he could still taste her kiss. He was disgusted with himself. He was happy he'd saved Sakura from possibly killing herself but he wished he didn't have to do so by kissing her. He was on his way to Sasuke's house now. He felt he should let Saske know what he'd seen in Sakura. If anyone could help Sakura now it was Sasuke.

Naruto ran up the steps to Sasuke's door. Before his fist met the door, he caught an image in the window. At first he thought the lightning was playing tricks on him but when he looked again he knew it was real. Sasuke was on his couch, holding _his _girlfriend. Naruto was about to bust the door down and beat the crap out of Sasuke but then he saw Hinata's face. Her face was soaked with tears and he could faintly hear her sobs through the window. Then he saw Sasuke's eyes. They were understanding and concerned. There was nothing deceitful about them.

Naruto realized what happened. He realized that Hinata had watched him deliberately betray her and Sasuke had been the only one out in the rain to help her. Feeling his own heart shatter, Naruto ran.

_It's a damn cold night_

_Tryin' to figure out this life_

_Won't you take me by the hand?_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm, I'm with you, yea_

_I'm with you, yea_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm, I'm with you, yea_

_I'm with you, yea_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I'm, I'm with you, oh_

_I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

**A/N: Yes I did just write that chapter! Yes I do despise the NarutoxSakura pairing! Yes I do slightly support the SasukexHinata pairing! Don't fret though my loyal fans! There is still plenty of time for your fav couples to happen. Wait until you see what I have planned! PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	6. Scrambled

**Chapter VI. "Scrambled"**

Hinata hadn't remembered falling asleep. She found herself awakening in a strange room she'd never seen before. She was in a big, neat, dark bedroom. The bed was soft and comfortable and smelled faintly of something good that she couldn't place. She tried to remember what had happened last night. She sat up in the unfamiliar yet inviting bed. She noticed she wasn't wearing her usual attire. She was wearing extremely large black clothes that had the same intoxicating yet unplaceable scent to them. The events of the previous night slowly began to come back to her. She remembered the kiss, the rain, the screaming, and the crying. She remembered Uchiha Sasuke. She remembered his eyes and how kind and understanding they were. She remembered his voice and how it had soothed her. She remembered his strong arms around her as she cried and how he saved her life.

Hinata quietly left the extremely comfortable bed. The clothes she was wearing sagged down around her and she had to tie them up to fit. She found her way to the bedroom door and crept into the hallway. The house was deathly silent as she padded downstairs. She noticed how tidy the house was as she descended. For some reason, Hinata had never thought Sasuke to be a neat freak. She reached the bottom of the stairs and found the Uchiha asleep on the couch. She was quiet as she came around the couch. She didn't want to disturb him. He seemed so peaceful.

Hinata had never really looked at Uchiha Sasuke. She always heard what the girls said about him but she'd never looked at him herself. She hadn't needed to when she was so in love with…someone else. The things the girls said about his face were true. He was ungodly handsome. Most people looked atrocious when they were asleep but he didn't. His chest rose and fell very softly and he didn't make a sound when he breathed. He still looked guarded, even in his sleep. Hinata managed a smile. He was all the things the girls said he was and so much more.

The screeching alarm clock on the coffee table interrupted her assessment of Uchiha Sasuke. She squeaked when his fist came down on the alarm clock and shattered it into a million pieces. The shrieking was silenced and he sat up with a big yawn and a stretch.

"Oh! You're up," he stated when he saw her.

She managed a terrified nod, thanking God she hadn't been standing anywhere near his alarm clock. Sasuke must have noticed her look because he chuckled.

"I'm not a morning person," he explained.

"Really? I would have never guessed."

"Yeah well now you know."

He yawned again and got off the couch. It was then Hinata realized that she had just totally broke the rules about conduct. She panicked.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so so sorry!" she suddenly exclaimed, bowing multiple times.

Sasuke was dazed for a moment and blinked at her, as if asking, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I-I made you sleep on the couch! I got your furniture all wet! I dragged mud through your house! I…I…"

Sasuke started laughing. Hinata was beat red in embarrassment. He walked past her, still laughing.

"You hungry?" he called from the kitchen.

"No--"

But her stomach cut her off.

"I heard that!"

Hinata finally realized that it was inevitable that Sasuke would make breakfast for her. She hated herself for invading his house and eating his food but it seemed she had no choice in the matter. She sighed and went into the kitchen.

"What are you hungry for?" Sasuke asked, one hand rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and the other holding a bitten tomato.

She looked at it curiously. Sasuke turned to her and noticed her stare.

"Want one?" he asked.

"Oh! No. No thank you. Its just--"

"People usually have apples in the morning?" he finished for her. "I prefer tomatoes. They're better for you. They give you energy, vitamins, and all that other good stuff."

"I've never seen anyone eat a tomato like an apple before," Hinata commented.

"That's because not everyone's favorite food is the tomato."

"Tomatoes are your favorite food?"

"Yupe. Ever since I was a kid. Please, sit."

"Oh no! I couldn't. I mean…I have to get home--"

"I'll take you home after you get some food in you. I insist," he added before she could protest.

She sighed in defeat and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"You got any eggs?" she sighed.

Sasuke smiled in victory and turned on the stove.

"How do you like them?"

"Surprise me," she said, dropping her head onto the table.

"You okay?"

"Yeah I guess. I just can't believe this happened."

"Yeah. That's how I felt."

"You said it gets better?"

"Yeah. It'll take a while but the less you think about it, the sooner you'll feel better."

"How do you stop thinking about the man you love kissing the woman you hate?"

"You hate her?"

"I think I always did. It wasn't until now that I really realized it."

There was silence between them and she glanced up at him. His back was turned to her as he got a plate out for the eggs. Hinata remembered what Naruto told her about Sasuke and she couldn't stop herself from asking what she did next.

"Do you love her?"

Sasuke choked on a piece of tomato and dropped the plate on the counter. There was a loud clatter but the plate, thankfully, didn't shatter. It took a little bit of time for Sasuke to get the tomato down before he could speak again. There was a pause as he caught his breath. He piled her breakfast onto the plate and placed it before her. He sat across the table and stared at her, a hint of iciness in his eyes.

"Do you love Naruto?"

"I asked you first."

"But I asked you second and second is the best."

Hinata glared at him and he smirked back.

"Who knew the regal Uchiah Sasuke was so immature?"

"Who knew the sweet Hyuga Hinata was such a sore loser?"

They glared, playfully, at one another for a while before Hinata gave in and answered his question.

"I do love him," she whispered. "But…"

"You're furious with him."

"Yeah…I am mad but I'm mostly hurt. I mean…he promised me over and over again that nothing would happen. How could he lie to me about something so serious?"

Hinata hadn't realized how tight her grip on her fork was until Sasuke's hand fell upon hers. She started at the cool touch but instantly relaxed afterward. She took a deep breath, not wanting to repeat last night.

"What do I do?" she asked him.

Sasuke thought about it.

"The way I see it is you have two choices. One: you could talk to him and hear his side of the story. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. Maybe Sakura forced him into it."

Hinata was about to mention how she thought she saw him move closer but then remembered the key word there was _thought. _She could have imagined it while she was so upset.

"Then there's option number two. You could assume the worst and get back at him for it."

"What would you do?"

"I'm a bad person. I'd get revenge, no questions asked."

Hinata averted her eyes. She wished it didn't have to come to that.

"But," Sasuke continued, "you're not a bad person. You would probably talk it out before you decided to break it off or not. Its up to you."

"Well you're awfully helpful."

"Its not my job to make your decisions for you."

Despite the gentleness in his voice, she still felt guilty. She was just about to apologize but he sent her a death glare that said, "Say it and you die." So she shut up.

"Finish up your breakfast. Your clothes are probably dry by now. I'll go find them and we can get going. Your father's probably got every Anbu in Konoha searching for you by now." Hinata managed a giggle before he went in search of her clothes. If she didn't break it off with Naruto, her father definitely would. Sasuke returned, dressed in his Gothic attire from the previous day, with her dry clothes on one arm. She was about to wash off her plate in his sink but he told her to leave it and get changed. She obeyed. He showed her to the bathroom and let her get changed. She got into her old clothes and immediately missed the intoxicating, soothing scent of his clothes. She sighed, feeling hurt and vulnerable again. The loss of his clothes made her feel the same as last night: lost, scared, and unloved. She shook herself out of it and reminded herself to take an extremely long, hot shower once she got home. She met Sasuke at his front door.

"You okay?" he asked once he saw the sad look in her eyes again.

"Yeah," she said, perking up at the thought of a shower to wash her worries away.

Sasuke opened the door for her. He was quite the gentleman. He locked the door and tested it multiple times to make sure he couldn't get in.

"Afraid of someone breaking in?"

"Yeah actually."

"Who?"

"Fangirls."

"Oh. Right."

They headed off to the Hyuga estate. The sun was shining bright today. The only sign that there had been a storm were the puddles on the ground and the water droplets dripping off the rooftops. The birds were chirping in the trees. Most of the village was still asleep. It wasn't early for ninjas to be up but it was for the normal citizens.

"Thank you," Hinata suddenly said.

Sasuke glanced at her.

"I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along last night. Thank you."

"It was the least I could do," Sasuke murmured.

"It helped a lot that you were there. Really."

They smiled at one another. She liked him. He was nice. He was kind, patient, cool, calm…she really didn't know why she'd never gotten to know him sooner. Then she remembered something.

"Its Saturday," she stated.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"That party is tonight."

"Oh yeah. That Spring fling…thing."

Hinata giggled. Sasuke smiled. She seemed okay now. She seemed back to her old self. That was good. He didn't want her killing herself.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"Unfortunately."

"Oh…really? With who?"

Sasuke heard the disappointment in her voice and laughed.

"Going with number two are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You wanted to go to that party with me to make Naruto jealous." Hinata turned beat red, caught in her lie.

Sasuke chuckled again.

"Sorry. I would love nothing more than to help you get revenge but I have my own evil plot to carry out."

Hinata looked at him curiously.

"You know Ino and Sakura are arch rivals. I decided to take Ino to piss off Sakura. I was hoping she would change her ways afterward."

"So you do love her," she confirmed, realizing he hadn't answered her question before.

He was quiet and stared ahead, his eyes suddenly impassive. Hinata waited for him to say something. She tried to be as patient as he had been with her last night. She felt she owed it to him. She hadn't thought about how her ordeal affected him. She had forgotten Naruto's suspicions of Sasuke's feelings. She hadn't been surprised when Naruto shared his thoughts with her. Sasuke was lonely. She could tell by the gossip and by her visit to his house last night. Sakura was the only girl he ever spent time with . It wasn't uncommon for a connection to develop.

"I was starting to," he suddenly said.

His voice was low, like he was talking to himself and when she looked at him, his eyes were distant.

"She kissed me."

"I heard. That must've been strange."

"It was nice. It was sweet and soothing. I hadn't realized how I felt about her until then. And then she decided to go shove her tongue down another man's throat."

She heard the aggression in his voice and hesitantly placed a hand on his arm like he had for her the previous night. He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed.

"That kiss wasn't even for me. She just wanted to make _him _jealous. Why the hell is she pulling all this crap? She _hated _him for years. Why now? Why does she have to be falling for him now of all times?"

Hinata pulled him to a halt. He had been picking up speed the more he talked. It was obvious he was in love with Sakura. All week he had to spend his training watching her flirt with his arch rival.

"It'll get better," she said, giving him his own advice.

He chuckled again.

"It'll get better for _you_. Not me though. No other girl in this village has feelings for me that aren't sexual."

Now that her head was clear, she could really understand why she thought he was so cold. He was lonely. All of the girls in the village pledged their undying love to him. But, in bubble language, undying love translated into "body for sex." Every fan girls goal was just to get into Uchiha Sasuke's bed. Since he mentioned it, she realized he was right. Out of everything she'd heard from the squealing girls of Konoha, none of them said anything about Sasuke that meant something deeper than physical attraction.

"You don't even know if Sakura really loved you. She could have been tricking you like…Naruto."

"She wasn't."

"How do you know?"

"By the way it felt when she kissed me."

"But I thought you said it wasn't for you."

"At the time it felt like it was. It was later that I started suspecting otherwise."

"Is that why you're taking Ino to this party? To test her?"

"Yeah."

"You know…that's really going to hurt Ino when she finds out."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've hurt someone to get what I want," he said, a humorless smile on his face.

They arrived at the Hyuga estate not long after. Hinata sighed at the gate.

"You going to be okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Well…if you ever want to talk more…you could always give me a call."

Hinata looked at him in shock. Was Uchiha Sasuke really handing out his phone number to _her_?

"I'll put you in my contacts if you'll put me in yours," he said, pulling out his shiny black phone.

"Uh…o-okay…"

They exchanged cell phone numbers, quietly, for fear of stalker fan girls overhearing.

"Whenever you feel like talking, I'll always have it on and I'll always be around."

She nodded and thanked him. There was an awkward pause between them before Sasuke turned and left.

"Wait!" Hinata suddenly called, grabbing his arm.

He turned to her, his obsidian eyes curious.

"What do I do tonight?" she asked.

His eyebrow went up as a request for clarification.

"Tonight's that party and we made plans to go together. But now…"

"It all depends on the choice you make," he simply said.

She sighed.

"Why can't you just give me a straight answer?"

"Because its not my job to run your life."

She managed a smile when he smiled at her. Their moment was shattered when a holler came from within the Hyuga gates.

"Hinata! Where have you been?"

Neji came running to the gate and squeezed out so he was standing beside them. He glanced at Sasuke suspiciously.

"What are _you _doing here?" he asked in disgust.

"Neji don't be so rude," Hinata scolded. "Sasuke's my friend now and I want you to treat him as such."

Neji's silver eyes held shock when he looked at her. She didn't meet his gaze but instead smiled politely at Sasuke.

"I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course. Its like I said," he replied, waving his phone slightly. "Its always on and I'm always around."

She nodded and he departed. She watched him go, feeling more vulnerable and more lonely with every step he took away from her.

"What's going on?" Neji asked her. "Where's Naruto?"

She felt her heart harden at the sound of his name and she also felt her eyes stinging but she forced herself not to cry.

"Your father's outraged!" Neji continued. "You might as well tell me now before I find out later." Neji awaited her answer.

"Sasuke helped me when no one else was around. He understood me and listened when I wanted to talk. Get used to him being around."

"What happened to Naruto?"

"Who cares about what happened to Naruto!?" she suddenly screamed, unable to contain her anger any longer. "I bet he's plenty happy wherever he is! He's probably high on adrenaline and pink-haired whore by now!"

She stormed away from the stunned Hyuga and past her father who had come out when he heard the commotion. He was hurt when she didn't even glance at him when she walked by after he'd been so worried about her. But then he noticed the tears in his eyes and met Neji's gaze. He also caught a glimpse of Uchiha Sasuke walking away from the estate.

"What happened," he demanded more than asked Neji.

"I think Naruto screwed it up."

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Naruto hurried towards the Hyuga estate, a bouquet of roses in his hands. He repeated his explanation thousands of time over again in his head. He had spent the whole night compiling a well thought out and truthful clarification of the events of the previous night. Seeing Hinata crying so much in _Sasuke's _arms had been a huge wake-up call for him. He had to explain that Sakura was unwell and that the kiss hadn't been mutual which he suddenly realized wasn't entirely true.

_Damn it Dobe! _Naruto scolded himself. _Pick a girl and stick with her!_

Naruto was positive that girl was Hinata. The only feelings he had for Sakura were from typical male hormones. But he had deeper feelings for Hinata. All his feelings for her were straight from his heart. Feeling confident in his explanation, Naruto strode to the estate. But he stopped in his tracks, the estate in sight, when he saw Saske coming from it. Sasuke saw him as well and also stopped. He gave him his usual teasing smirk but today Naruto took everything seriously. To him, at that moment, Sasuke was out to steal his girl.

"A better choice would have been white roses," Sasuke said. "But red roses are very classic I suppose."

Naruto glared at him but it was a true glare. Naruto wasn't playing around today and Sasuke could see it.

"Shut up you bastard," Naruto said darkly.

"I'm not the one causing the problems in your relationship. You started it."

"Shut up! You don't know anything about us!"

"On the contrary, I do. Your relationship isn't the most private in Konoha."

"Shut up!!"

Naruto dropped the roses and aimed a punch for Sasuke's face. Of course, he caught it with no trouble.

"Why are you so pissed at _me_? You should be beating up yourself. None of this would have happened if you had just stayed faithful."

"_Shut up_!! You don't know anything! Everything would have been fine if you hadn't butted in!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the hell do you think? I went to your house! I saw you two together!"

"And she saw you and Sakura together…kissing in the rain."

Naruto didn't reply but just glared at Sasuke. Sasuke smirked triumphantly.

"Stay away from my girlfriend," Naruto demanded through gritted teeth.

"I didn't try to move in on her."

"Then what was she doing in your house last night?"

"Talk to her about it. That is, if she'll listen."

Naruto's glare was blistering but Sasuke was unfazed.

"You know you should probably be thanking me. If I hadn't found her, you might've…with a knife through her chest."

Naruto's blood ran cold and Sasuke pushed past him. Suicide? Was Hinata going to kill herself? Naruto shook himself out of it and picked up the roses. He approached the estate with caution, his explanation completely erased at the conflict with Sasuke. Neji and Hiashi were discussing something on the other side of the gate in the courtyard. They saw him and sent him identical, silver glares. He cringed at first but remembered his mission and stood tall.

"Good morning Hyuga-sama," he greeted Hiashi with a low bow from the other side of the gate.

Hiashi didn't return his greeting but just glared at him with Neji by his side.

"Is Hinata here?" he asked, hopefully.

"What if she was? What makes you think I'll let you see her?" Hiashi demanded answers from him.

He gulped down his nervousness and tried to be as professional and respectful as possible.

"I made a mistake sir. I want a chance to explain myself to her."

"Why don't you explain yourself to _me _first?"

Hiashi came up to the gate and stared down at Naruto. It was discouraging. Naruto was never good at explaining himself to Hyuga Hiashi. He always stammered and stuttered and always ended up sounding like an imbecile. But when he glanced up and caught a glimpse of Hinata at her bedroom window, he grew determined and found the strength to stand up against her father.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Hinata bit her nails when she saw Naruto at the gate, talking to her father. She had to make a decision like Sasuke said. But she couldn't think clearly now since he left. The instant Sasuke walked away, her mind had become foggy and she had become angry. Her hand found her phone without her command and they moved across the buttons almost instinctively.

"Talk to him," was the response she received the second she placed the phone to her ear.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"I'm psychic. You should talk to him."

"Really? Are you sure? What do I say?"

"Tell him what you told me. You have to let him know everything your feeling. There's no better way to make a guy regret his mistakes."

Hinata continued to gnaw at her nails and looked, again, out the window at Naruto.

"Are you still there?" she asked into the phone.

"Yupe. I'm not going to talk you through the conversation though."

"I know but…I don't know what I'll do or what I'll say."

"It doesn't matter as long as you get all your feelings out. You can scream at him, cuss at him, slap him…"

"No! I don't want to hurt him!"

"You _should _hurt him. I mean, don't murder him or anything but make him understand how you feel."

Hinata nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"Okay. I'm going to let him in now."

"Good luck. I'll be at the Training Field if you need me."

He hung up. She took a deep breath, feeling calmer since she heard his voice. She went downstairs and out into the courtyard.

"Its okay," she told Neji and Hiashi. "You can let him in."

She met Naruto's bright, cerulean eyes squarely, turmoil still boiling inside of her.

"We have a lot to talk about."

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sasuke groaned, loudly, in irritation after he hung up the phone. He could have handled both situations better. He could have been nicer to Naruto when they fought. He could have sounded less…diabolical. He could have been calmer with Hinata when she called. He could have been more organized and professional. He could have been cooler if he hadn't been thinking of Sakura. Ever since Hinata brought it up at breakfast, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. When he had told Hinata about the kiss, he found himself longing to kiss her again. And, as if called forth by his thoughts, she appeared on the path before him. She wasn't dressed as slutty as she had been but she wasn't back to her usual red dress.

**A/N: Okay. They do have cell phones. I know that the Naruto dimension is unclear on there technological prowess. They've got everything we do in this fic. And Sakura's outfit now is the Shippuden outfit.**

"What are you doing here?" he asked her, dazed by her appearance.

"Um…I was looking for Naruto," she said innocently.

She was back to normal. There was no hint of deceit in her eyes. She no longer gave him the initial reaction to a whore. She was the girl he had been falling in love with again. But then she mentioned Naruto.

"Why him?" he asked coarsely.

He hadn't meant to make it sound so jealous and possessive. He could see that she noticed because she averted her eyes and spoke softer.

"I just wanted to thank him for helping me last night. I was really screwed up and he made me feel better."

"By dong what? Kissing? Touching? Sex? Its always sex isn't it?"

Sakura's face turned beat red.

"Sasuke! That's not what happened."

"How do I know that? You've been lying and scheming all week!"

Sasuke couldn't control his anger any longer. Just hearing her say she was looking for Narout and not him, broke his heart to pieces. He had just told Hinata to talk to Naruto and make him feel the way she did. He realized that he had to take his own advice and apply it to Sakura. He couldn't hide how he felt about her any longer.

"How come its only Naruto lately? Why the hell have you taken a sudden interest in him after all these years? Whatever happened to me?"

"I…didn't think you cared…"

"Well I do care! Believe it or not, Uchihas have feelings just like everyone else!"

"I didn't think you cared…about _me_."

There was a pause and Sakura met his eyes. It was the first time she saw all the rage and turmoil that wasn't over revenge. He was thinking about her. He was mad at her for ignoring him and she hadn't even realized it. All this time she had been trying to get to Naruto, thinking it would help her win Sasuke. But, looking into his eyes, it seemed she'd already won him.

"Sasuke…I'm sorry…"

"Don't bother. Its clear to me that your not sorry about any of it. You enjoyed every second of throwing yourself at Naruto."

"That's not true! I did it all for you!"

"You think watching you hit on another guy was enjoyable for me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I don't know! I just wanted you to notice me!"

"I already noticed you!"

"Then why the hell didn't you say anything!?"

"Because I didn't know how! I…"

Sasuke ran out of words to say. Plus, her tears were distracting him. He wanted to wipe them away. He wanted to hold her and to kiss her again. But he didn't know what was real anymore.

"Why didn't you come to me?" he asked her. "Why go looking for Naruto in the rain?"

"I thought you hated me," she sniffled.

"Quite the opposite," he said with an empty chuckle.

She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"I was falling in love with you," he finally admitted. "But…now…I just don't know who you are anymore."

He started to walk past her but she grabbed his arm desperately.

"I can change!" she sobbed. "I can give up on Naruto. I don't even like him! I just had a twisted idea in my head that if I won him back I could get you to notice me!"

"Its to late for explanations now Sakura!" he shouted, yanking his arm out of her grip.

"No its not! I can fix this if you'll just help me!"

Sasuke was finding it difficult to walk away. Her sobbing was begging him to stay and dry her tears. But Sasuke couldn't handle another broken heart. He couldn't tell what was real and what was false. He wanted her affections for Naruto to be fake and he wanted to believe everything she was saying to him now but he just couldn't tell if it really was real or not. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything was okay. He wanted to love her but he wanted her to love him back. He didn't want her to have any feelings for Naruto.

"Sasuke," she cried. "I need you."

He closed his eyes. He had to make his decision.

"Why did you kiss him?" he asked in a whisper.

"Because I was imagining you," she answered, putting all the truth she could behind it.

"Why did you have to imagine it? Why didn't you come looking for me?"

"I didn't know where you were."

They gazed into each other's eyes. He searched for the truth in her jade eyes and she made sure every door was open to him. She wanted him to understand that she was confused and that everything she did, she did for him. She could see in his ebony eyes that he was broken. He didn't want to fight but he didn't want to be hurt. And she didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"I don't want to see you like this," she voiced her thoughts. "I want you to be happy…even if its not with me."

"The only way I can be happy is if I'm with you."

Sakura's heart soared at that statement and she felt confident enough to reach up and touch his face. Her hand rested on his cheek for only a moment before he lifted his own hand and intertwined it with his own.

"Tell me the truth," he whispered, his dark gaze boring into her. "Who do you want? Me or Naruto?"

"Its always been you," she said without hesitation.

He leaned down, unable to resist any longer, and kissed her. It started out simple and chaste. She carefully slid her arms around his neck. He hesitantly laid his arms around her waist. He still couldn't be sure this was real. He parted for air and looked into her eyes for any trace of deception but there was none. There was only pureness and love. He kissed her again, this time more passionately. He pushed her against a nearby tree, pressing himself closer to her and deepening the kisses. She whimpered a little and his hands went to her face to wipe away the tears. For now, he needed to believe this was real. He needed her not to have feelings for Naruto and to only have feelings for him.

Her kisses tasted the same as the first one she's given him. They were sweet and comforting. They chased away all the darkness inside of him. They made him feel like a better man. They made him feel calm and secure. He felt safe and cared for. He didn't feel alone anymore. She pulled herself closer to him, tilting her head to deepen the kisses. Her hands tangled into his raven hair. She leaned one foot against the tree so her knee was around his hip. His hands slid down her sides and back around her waist. One went behind her neck and beneath her soft hair. He didn't want to stop kissing her. He wanted to stay with her. But he knew he couldn't. He pulled away abruptly earning a quiet whine of distress from her.

"I can't," he panted.

"W-Why?" she asked, reaching out to him.

"I'm sorry," he said and ran away.

"Wait!" she called and started after him.

But she stopped and watched him go. Her body and lips were on fire and longing for more contact but she couldn't run after him. She was lucky to have received such a display of affections from Sasuke. She decided not to push it. He needed time to think and she didn't blame him. She had screwed him up and confused him. She took a breath, finally understanding what she had to do. She glanced back at the way to the Hyuga estate. She knew Naruto was there, talking to Hinata. Sakura knew she had to apologize to both of them as soon as possible.

_Not now, _she thought. _I can't show up when they're together. That'll only make things worse. Later. _

She went her way to the bridge.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Hinata led Naruto up to her room silently. Naruto stared at her back, thinking of the terrible cries he'd heard at Sasuke's house. Had she really tried to kill herself or was Sasuke just messing with him? She walked into the room first and went to her window. Naruto entered second, closing the door, quietly, behind him. She didn't look at him but continued to stare out the window. He placed the roses on her dresser and came up behind her.

"Hey," he said quietly.

She still didn't talk to him.

"I messed up. I'm sorry," he murmured.

"You think that's going to be enough?" she asked coldly.

"No," he began. "I have a lot to tell you."

"There's not a lot to say. You deliberately kissed another girl while you were in a relationship with me."

"It wasn't entirely deliberate."

"_Wasn't entirely deliberate_?"

She turned to him, her silver eyes like a winter storm.

"It looked pretty damn deliberate to me!"

"Sakura's not right in the head Hinata. Something's wrong with her. She looked suicidal last night. I couldn't leave her alone."

"But you didn't have to kiss her!"

Naruto lowered his gaze in shame.

"No," he said. "I didn't."

"Then why did you?"

Tears were fighting to fall down her face and she had to growl through her teeth to refrain from screaming at him.

"I don't know," he murmured.

"How could you not know!?" she shouted. "You were there! You did it!"

"I was freaked out okay!" he started, looking back at her, begging with his eyes for forgiveness. "I didn't know what was wrong with her. I didn't know what she was going to do."

"That's no excuse! She's been flirting with you all week! You really expect me to believe that she's suddenly snapped!"

He was about to say something but she kept going. She was hysterical by now and nothing was going to stop her until she got every last drop of hurt out of her and into him.

"You promised me over and over again that everything was fine. You promised me nothing was going on. But its clear to me now that that was all a lie!"

"It wasn't all a lie! Nothing happened up until last night. I swear!"

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

"If you loved me you would!"

Hinata turned away from him and they didn't talk for quite a while.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked. "Are we breaking up or what?"

"If I could trust you, we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

"If you'd just let me explain--"

"I _let _you explain! You're excuse was that she was going insane and you didn't want to leave her alone. Under any normal circumstances I'd accept that. But this is _Sakura _we're talking about. You had a crush on her for _years _before the Christmas party. And then she flirted with you _all week_! Look at it through _my _eyes! Do you really think it doesn't look like you were cheating on me?"

Naruto stared at the floor blankly. He couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't believe he was losing the girl he loved after he'd done everything in his power to keep her.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked in a whisper, his spiky blond hair hanging over his eyes.

Hinata didn't know what she wanted to hear. All she wanted to hear was the truth and she didn't know what the truth was. No matter how badly she wanted to believe Naruto, she really couldn't be so sure. She wanted to believe Naruto was more than the average man and wouldn't fall so easily to the feminine charms. But she didn't know what she could believe. She didn't know what she wanted to hear from him that would make it better.

"Can I have another chance?" he asked her quietly.

Hinata stared out the window at the rising sun, contemplating whether or not he deserved a second chance. She did love him and she didn't know all the facts.

"Fine," she finally decided, turning back to him. "I'll give you another chance but not tonight."

Naruto looked confused.

"Don't bother picking me up for that party tonight."

Naruto looked crushed and it broke her heart to pieces but she needed a night away from him to clear her head. He seemed to get angry all of a sudden.

"Why not? So you can go with someone else? Someone like Sasuke?"

"No! Sasuke already has a date and he's a good enough guy to not take advantage of our situation!"

"If it wasn't for that bastard none of this would have happened!"

"Its not his fault! Its yours! You and that whore caused this!"

"Is that what he told you? He just wants to steal you away from me!"

"_He _didn't tell _me _anything! _I _saw _you_! Why can't you just admit you're wrong for once in your life?"

"I was wrong. I was wrong to believe that you would understand!"

"And so was I! I was wrong to trust that you wouldn't cheat on me with Sakura! Now get out!"

Naruto fought back heartbroken tears as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Hinata fell onto her bed and screamed into the pillows. This couldn't be happening.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sasuke destroyed, like, fifteen training dummies within thirty seconds. The Training Field was covered in splinters and burnt hay. He had been at the Training Filed for half an hour, tearing up the ground with his Chidori and scorching dummies and trees with his fire jutsus, taijutsu, and artillery. He collapsed against one of the tree stumps, body trembling with exhaustion. His breathing was heavy and he was drenched in sweat. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the stump. He probably should have gone to find some water since he could barely breathe but he couldn't will his legs to stand.

He was angry. He was confused. He didn't know if kissing Sakura was right or not but he had enjoyed it. He hadn't wanted to stop. His lips were still on fire and he couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't stop considering the possibility that it could have been a lie. He growled to himself, loudly, and stabbed a kunai into the ground. He knew it was bad to take his anger out on the environment but it was better than taking it out on a person. By the looks of the Training Field, a person would have been horribly mauled as a result of his rage.

He opened his eyes and stared at the sky, imagining her face in the clouds. He squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted to stop thinking about her. It only made him more angry because he thought of Naruto and how she acted towards him. He thought of Hinata and how much he cared about her sanity. He sighed and looked back at the sky. He watched the birds flutter through the clouds without a care in the world. It wasn't the first time he had wished he was a bird. The only angst birds suffered were how to find their migration sites. He scanned the Training Field and decided he'd caused enough mass destruction for one day.

He struggled to his feet, using the stump for support. He couldn't feel his legs or his arms but they worked fine. He limped away from his support stump. He felt dizzy from using so much energy. The edge of his vision was going dark and he knew he was about to hit the ground. But a steady hand took his arm and kept him upright. He felt energy flowing into him and washing away all his exhaustion like a cool bath. He glanced at the person, suspecting it was Sakura since she knew medical jutsu. But it wasn't Sakura. It was Hinata.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura tapped her foot, impatiently, on the bridge. She was nervous. She knew Naruto would have to come here for training and when he did she was going to apologize. She was upset that Sasuke wasn't there and she was afraid he was doing something destructive. Usually, when Sasuke was angry, he went around destroying everything. She was afraid that her actions had stressed him out and made him strain himself to the point where the Curse Mark would take over. She chewed her nails. She wanted so badly to go in search of Sasuke but she knew her presence would just stress him out even further. She forced her feet to remain glued to the ground. She had to leave Sasuke alone for now, at least until she had finished apologizing to Naruto and Hinata. She saw Naruto coming up the path without Hinata. That made her even more nervous. She prayed she hadn't broke them up. But, seeing the blank look in his eyes, she had a feeling she was to late.

"Hey Naruto," she whispered.

He didn't acknowledge her presence and continued to walk past her to his usual spot on the bridge railing. He stared at the ground, eyes sad and empty. She hesitated to begin her apology speech. It was obvious he wasn't hearing anything but something in his head.

"Are you okay?" she tried.

His head moved ever so slightly and she couldn't tell if it was a gesture for yes or no. But she had received an acknowledgment. She couldn't contain her apology.

"Naruto I'm sorry!" she blurted. "I'm sorry about what I did all week. It was wrong of me to flirt with you while you had a girlfriend. I wasn't thinking straight. I don't know what was wrong with me. I like you as a friend and I don't want to come between you and Hinata--"

"Its to late for that," he said blankly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want this to happen." He gave another slight twitch of the head.

"You don't have to forgive me. I really don't deserve it. I just wanted you to know how sorry I was."

There was silence between them. His cerulean eyes were hidden in shadows beneath his spiky hair. Sakura sighed in relief since she got her apology out. What she wasn't relieved about was that she had caused Naruto and Hinata's breakup.

_Oh no. What have I done?_

She hoped that when she apologized to Hinata, somehow, they would get back together. The bridge was silent. Nothing but the babbling of the river could be heard. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. Sasuke didn't show up and it still wasn't late enough for Kakashi to show up.

"Are you going?" Naruto suddenly asked, abruptly.

"To the party tonight? I was planning on it. Yes."

"Do you have a date?"

Sakura was quiet, remembering Sasuke's brutal emotional assault when he accepted Ino as his date right in front of her.

"No," she whispered.

"You wanna go?"

Sakura turned to him and met his blank cerulean eyes. She knew what he was asking. He was asking if she would go with him. She knew that going to the party with him would make things worse with Sasuke and Hinata. But she couldn't turn him down when he looked so lost.

"As friends," she finally agreed.

"Yeah. Just friends."

The emptiness in Naruto's voice frightened Sakura. He was never so unhappy. She had seriously screwed everything up. Not to long after, Kakashi appeared.

"Where is Sasuke?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head to show she didn't know. Naruto was unresponsive to Kakashi. Kakashi was worried. He didn't like it when he didn't know where Sasuke was especially when the Curse Mark had been acting up so recently.

"Okay let's head over to the Training Field. Maybe he got an early start."

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

"Why are you here?"

"You said you'd be here."

Sasuke and Hinata sat in the shade of the trees. Hinata had insisted on treating Sasuke after he had come so close to fainting and he had been to weak to argue with her. He was still panting heavily and had trouble breathing but her medical jutsu was helping him stay awake.

"What were you thinking?" she scolded him as she continued to send her chakra energy into him. "You know you're not supposed to strain yourself. You're lucky I came when I did. You could have died via dehydration. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I was…pissed off…" he said between heavy breaths.

"That's no excuse," she said.

"Would you rather…I go take it out…on a person?"

"No. When you're mad you scream it out. You know you're awfully hypocritical. Why don't you take your own advice?"

"Oh shut up," he moaned. "You sound like my mom."

Hinata smiled at his irritation and at the fact that he was getting stronger. She cut off the chakra flow and handed him a battle of cold water.

"Why'd you come here?" he asked before he started gulping down the water.

Hinata lowered his eyes, remembering her true intentions for being there. Sasuke glanced at her.

"What did the dobe do this time?" he sighed.

Hinata was quiet, remembering the severity of the situation. Sasuke waited until she could find the words to describe what happened. The conversation with Naruto obviously hadn't gone well.

"We broke up," she whispered, barely audible.

Sasuke refrained from spitting water across the Training Field. Damn it! They weren't supposed to break up! He held back his irritation at this sudden turn of events and tried to stay cool.

"What happened?"

"We yelled. Actually…I did most of the screaming. I shouldn't have yelled so much."

"You took my advice. You had to let him know what he did to you."

"Yeah…but…"

"You didn't want to break up."

"I don't even know if we did break up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…I told him not to pick me up tonight and then he accused me of going with you. And then I scolded him about Sakura. I told him to get out. But…we never agreed to see other people."

"You don't have to agree on anything to break up," he said.

There were tears in her eyes as she relived the experience. She had been cruel to Naruto. She hadn't been herself. She hadn't listened to his explanation as well as she could have. If she hadn't screamed so much then maybe they could still be together.

"It could still work out," Sasuke said.

Hinata glanced at him but he didn't meet her gaze. Instead he stared through the leaves of the tree above them to the sky. He found himself thinking about Sakura again. He found himself thinking about the kiss that caused him to go on a rampage for no apparent reason. He stretched since he had the strength to move again. But when he lowered his arms, a sharp pain stabbed through his shoulder. He bit back a wail of agony and clutched his shoulder. Hinata noticed and instantly went into nurse mode.

"You probably pulled a muscle or something. Let me see. Take off your shirt."

"What?"

"Take off your shirt so I can see what you did."

"No way!"

"Oh don't be a baby. I'm not going to molest you."

"There's no way I'm going to sit next to my arch rivals' lover all sweaty and half naked."

"Get you head out of the gutter!" she exclaimed, slapping him in the arm.

"Ahhh! Damn! Bad arm!"

"Ooo! Sorry! If you'd stop being so stubborn I could have it done by now!"

"There is no way I'm taking my shirt off in public when every squirrel is probably a camera cyborg."

"Oh my God! Stop being so damn paranoid! Camera cyborg squirrels don't exist. Besides, fan girls aren't smart enough for high-tech stuff like that."

"_Don't _underestimate them. The dumb blond gimmick is all an act. They're all evil masterminds."

"Stop trying to change the subject and take off your shirt!"

"Ugh! Fine! But I blame you for the future porn sites."

"How--"

"_Don't_! Ask."

_Very _reluctantly, Sasuke removed his torn black shirt. Hinata smiled in victory and tested his shoulder.

"Does it feel like its burning?" she asked in reference to the Curse Mark.

"No," he replied, tapping his fingers impatiently against the grass. "Its not that."

"You might have damaged a muscle or something after using your Chidori so much."

"Am I going to live doctor?" he teased.

"Of course Mr. Uchiha," she replied just as teasingly.

She massaged his shoulder a little bit which made him hiss before she started using her medical jutsu to relieve the pain. As she performed the jutsu, her eyes couldn't resist examining his body. She didn't blame the girls of Konoha for being so obsessed with him. He was _extremely _attractive. His skin was pale but not sickly so. It was almost porcelain-like. It was soft but also well-built. He didn't have bulky, wrestler muscles or anything but she could definitely feel them and see them as she worked her jutsu. He was lean and powerful. He was a "work of art" as the gossiping fan girls said. Hinata unconsciously trailed a hand down his back. Sasuke assumed it was part of the jutsu so he didn't accuse her of molesting him. His face was on fire and his fingers were erratic against the grass. That was another thing Hinata liked about him. He was modest. Any other guy with a body like his would flaunt it for all it was worth. But Sasuke was reserved and modest about his appearance. It was rare to find someone like him.

"Are you done yet?" he asked.

His voice jolted her back to reality and she cut off the chakra flow. She blushed furiously at her own pervertedness.

"Sorry. You're fine."

She bit her lip when she realized what she had said. Sasuke tested his arm. He didn't wince or hiss.

"Thanks," he said.

"Mmhm…"

"What's up?"

Hinata shook herself out of it and did her best not to stare at him. Those damn feminine hormones were destroying her.

"Um…Sasuke?"

"Mmhm?"

"What should I do tonight?"

"About the party?"

She nodded.

"Well the first thing you should do is give me my shirt back."

He reached for his shirt but she couldn't resist in pulling it out of his reach. His eyes narrowed and he gave her a challenging glare. She raised an eyebrow playfully.

"You're seriously going to try that?"

"Tell me who I should take tonight. I can tell you know someone."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. But, for the thousandth time, I'm not going to run your life."

"You wouldn't be running my life. You would be giving me a friendly suggestion."

"Maybe if you gave me my shirt, I would give you a friendly suggestion."

"Maybe if you'd give me a friendly suggestion I'd give you your shirt back."

They glared at one another, preparing for battle. Sasuke snatched at the shirt. She pulled way. He tried again. She pulled it away. There was a pause before Sasuke sighed and got to his feet. Hinata squeaked and ran. Sasuke groaned and ran after her.

"_Come on_! The cyborg squirrels are getting all of this!"

"There's no such thing as cyborg squirrels!"

"_How do you know_?"

They ran around the tree a few times before Sasuke had a light bulb moment and stopped to trip her the next time she came around. She fell for it but he caught her before she hit the ground. That made her blush, especially when their eyes met. Their faces had fallen close too. Sasuke blinked to break the lock and gently removed his shirt from her fingers.

"Thank you," he sighed, setting her upright.

"No problem," she said with a smile.

"Having fun?"

Hinata squeaked in fright and Sasuke twitched as the only sign Kakashi had caught him off guard. Sasuke sent a glare towards Kakashi until he saw Naruto and Sakura with him.

"I hate you," he said to Kakashi before putting his shirt back on.

Hinata met Naruto's cerulean gaze. She was heartbroken when she saw the hurt in his eyes. She hadn't wanted to hurt him like he had hurt her. But she reminded herself that at least she hadn't kissed Sasuke. Sasuke's obsidian eyes were glued to Sakura as he pulled his black jacket on over his shirt. There was hurt and confusion in her eyes and disbelief on her face. He tried to speak to her through his eyes and let her know that the kisses he shared with her were true. But she shook her head that she couldn't believe it. Sasuke turned back to Hinata.

"Told ya it was a bad idea," he mumbled.

She lowered her eyes, ashamed of herself for so immaturely getting revenge on Naruto _and _Sakura.

"Kiba."

Hinata glanced at him curiously. His eyes told her she had to leave and his voice told her to go to Kiba. She gave him a confused stare.

"Just a friendly suggestion."

She beat down her laughter and walked away, trying her best not to give Naruto a second glance even though she could feel his eyes scorching into her. Sasuke leaned against the tree, pocketing his hands, and waited until he could sense Hinata's presence no longer before speaking.

"Nothing happened," he stated, staring directly into both Sakura and Naruto's eyes.

Kakashi backed a safe distance away. He glanced over the top of his book, watching his students carefully. Sasuke met Naruto's gaze when he caught all the rage that made them flicker from blue to red.

"_Nothing happened_? Is that your excuse for everything!? How the hell do you expect me to believe you after the third time!? You son of a bitch!"

Naruto lunged towards Sasuke with a kunai in his hand. Did he really want to kill him? Was he really that pissed? Sasuke didn't move. He stayed where he was and kept watching his eyes.

"Sasuke move!" Sakura screamed as she watched Naruto's kunai aim for him.

Sasuke moved a breath to the side to save his throat but he let Naruto drive the weapon through his shoulder. He bit back his scream and refrained from pushing Naruto away like his instincts were screaming. If he fought him that would only increase Naruto's suspicions that Sasuke had "stolen" Hinata. Even if it hurt like hell, he couldn't fight him. Naruto's eyes were slowly flickering to demonic and Sasuke could feel the Kyuubis' power as he fisted his shirt in his hand. With a feral roar, Naruto threw Sasuke across the Training Field and into a tree. A crater was left in the tree's bark and Sasuke lost his breath. Sakura screamed and Kakashi put his book away. His eyes was glued to Naruto as he glared across the field at the crumpled Sasuke.

The Uchiha shakily got to his feet, clutching his bleeding shoulder where the kunai had hit. He forced himself to meet Naruto's eyes from across the Training Field, trying to tell him that he didn't want to come between him and Hinata. But Naruto was to full of rage to listen. He leaped across the field and landed on Sasuke's abdomen. Sasuke coughed up blood and he felt a rib crack and the ground sink. He watched Naruto's clawed hand ball into a fist and closed his eyes for the collision. Sakura watched in horror as Naruto repeatedly punched Sasuke in the face. She watched the blood flow from Sasuke's wounds. She knew that if Naruto kept it up he would break Sasuke's skull or snap his neck, thus killing him. This was what she had created. She had created a monster out of her own selfishness and greed. Tears running down her face, Sakura ran to them.

"Naruto! Stop! You're killing him!"

She threw her arms around Naruto and tried to pull him off of Sasuke but he was like a boulder. When Naruto felt her he turned to her and she was horrified when she met blazing, cat-like eyes.

"Stay away!" he growled and with one swing of his arms sent her flying into one of the stumps.

She heard her shoulder snap and knew it had dislocated. Before she could get up to try and stop him again, Kakashi had grabbed Naruto's hair and flung him a safe distance away from both Sasuke and Sakura.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" he bellowed.

Naruto snarled in reply.

"Snap out of it Naruto! These are your comrades! Why would you want to kill them?"

"He ruined _everything _for me! Everything would have been fine if he had stayed out of it! And _you_…"

He turned to Sakura.

"If you hadn't been such a whore, none of this would be happening!"

Sakura was hurt at Naruto's words but she knew he was right. It _was _all her fault.

"Don't pin all the blame on them. Your breakup is no excuse to attack your comrades! Its all your faults this happened. Sakura. Naruto's right. I don't know what you were thinking but there was no good reason for you to go after Naruto while he was in a relationship. Naruto. You knew Sakura was out to ruin your relationship but you did nothing to stop her. You could have easily prevented this if you had been responsible. And Sasuke…"

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, worry in his dark gray eye. Sasuke leaned against the tree, shaking in pain. Trickles of blood slid down his face and his shoulder was soaked in blood. His eyes were blank and full of agony that he refused to express in sound. Kakashi noticed the Curse Mark spinning on Sasuke's shoulder. He was fighting to keep it under control and fighting to stop the bleeding from his shoulder. Kakashi sighed.

"We need to get you to a hospital."

"Its okay."

Kakashi hadn't noticed Sakura until she spoke. She had limped to where he stood over Sasuke. Tears were still running down her face but she kneeled beside Sasuke and placed her hands against his shoulder to perform the medical jutsu. Kakashiw as relieved that Sasuke was in good hands so he turned his attention to Naruto. The fox's power started to recede to more Naruto breathed. Kakashi approached Naruto once the fox was gone.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Naruto looked up at Kakashi, rage still swimming in his eyes.

"You don't settle fights with murder. Ever! You should know better than to attack your comrades! You know the shinobi laws better than anybody. You can't seek to kill Sasuke. What if you were in the middle of a war and Sasuke was your only comrade? What then?"

"I am at war. I'm at war with _them_."

He nodded towards Sasuke and Sakura.

"They're no longer my comrades. I bet they worked together. They can't stand to see me happy."

"Snap out of it Naruto! You sound mad! These are your teammates you're talking about! You've worked together for almost six years!"

"Yeah. I _knew _them. Now I don't know who they are."

Kakashi sighed and scratched his head.

"You're impossible Naruto. I think it'd be best if you went home and slept on this."

"I'll go home once I see _him _pay!"

Kakashi blocked Naruto's way to Sasuke and pushed him back against a tree stump.

"Don't try it," Kakashi warned. "Unless you think you can stand up against me."

Naruto glared at Kakashi but his stare was cool and calm. Kakashi held the stare better and longer than Naruto because the blonde averted his eyes and pushed past him to exit the Training Field. Kakashi didn't take his eyes off of Naruto, especially when he passed Sasuke and Sakura. He stopped before them. Sakura glanced up at him, eyes full of tears. Sasuke stared at the ground trying to stay conscious. Naruto felt himself go cold with hate as he looked at Sasuke. He felt his mind clear and revenge take over. He wanted Sasuke's heart to break like his had. And he knew how to do it. He turned to Sakura, his eyes as sharp as diamonds.

"I'll pick you up at six," he said before pocketing his hands and skulking away.

Sakura bit her lip and reluctantly met Sasuke's eyes. The betrayal and shock in his eyes tore her apart inside.

"Its not--"

"Don't."

Sasuke pulled away from her and hurried to his feet.

"Sasuke…wait…" she choked.

She thought she saw tears in Sasuke's eyes before he dragged himself away from her. Sakura buried her face in her hands and cried.

**A/N: Holy crap that was long! I was actually going to make it longer but decided it'd be better to end it here. The party will start next chapter. I was going to start it this chapter but it was long enough. But long chapters are good chapters except when you have to type them in your 0 degree basement on your 1,000 year old computer ^_^ PLEASE REVIEW!! Thnx! :)**


	7. Hallelujah

**Chapter VII. "Hallelujah"**

**Disclaimer:** The song used in this chapter is titled "Hallelujah" and is sung by Rufus Wainwright

The Spring Equinox Celebration began solemnly for four young shin obi. Naruto lay on his bed, contemplating whether he should pick Sakura up or not. He was dressed in an orange T-shirt, a black jacket, long black pants, and black shoes. He hadn't gone fancy. He didn't feel Sakura deserved to see him at his best.

_I've heard there was a secret chord_

_That David played and it pleased the Lord_

_But you don't really care for music, do you?_

Hinata brushed her hair a million times in front of her mirror. It had gotten silky smooth a long time ago but her hand wouldn't stop running the brush through it. She stared blankly at her reflection. She felt empty. Usually, if she was on her way to a fancy occasion, Naruto would be there telling her she looked beautiful no matter what she put on. Tonight she had unconsciously put on his favorite dress. It was a long, shimmering silver dress that pooled at her feet and had no sleeves. It didn't show any cleavage which she was thankful for. She wore elbow length, white gloves, a simple diamond necklace and one pearl bracelet. A diamond flower pin was in her inky hair. She had lightly placed pale blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick on. She personally didn't like makeup much. She never put it on a lot. Naruto had always told her that her face was to beautiful to hid behind makeup. She placed the hair brush on her dresser and again stared at her reflection. She barely recognized herself without Naruto's cerulean eyes complimenting her own silver ones.

_It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth_

_The minor fall, the major lift_

_The baffled kind composing hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

The Uchiha house was silent. Sasuke leaned on his bathroom sink staring back into his onyx eyes. He had spent half an hour running hot water over his head, trying to clear it so he could think straight again. Nothing worked. His mind was a mess. His attire did little to hide that. He wore a button down white shirt and a black tie that hung loosely and sloppily around his neck. His jacket was black as were his pants and shoes. His hair was soaking wet after his time under the faucet. He didn't look like he was ready to go to a party. He looked like he had just come from a bar. As he thought about it, he thought he many not mind a nice long trip to the bar and drown his sorrows away in sake. He shook his head to snap out of it. He wasn't a drinker. He wouldn't sink that low. Sakura would be ashamed of him.

_She tied you to a kitchen chair_

_She broke your throne, she cut your hair_

_And from your lips she drew the hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

Naruto willed himself to stand and reluctantly left his apartment. He leaned against his door in the cool night air. He stared into the night aimlessly searching for some kind of answer. It felt wrong taking a different route to a different house for a different girl. His mind wandered to a night he spent out with Hinata. It had been to a party similar to the one he was headed to now to celebrate the New Year. They hadn't been dating long…only a week or so. He had been nervous. It was the first time he was going to her house to pick her up. He was afraid of meeting her father and confronting her overly protective cousin. But once he got there, he saw Hinata, standing in the moonlight. She had been wearing a silver dress that sparkled with starshine. All his worry had melted away and he thought he was looking at a snow angel since it was January and snow was on the ground.

"Do you like it?" Hinata asked, chewing her lower lip nervously.

Naruto had trouble finding his voice. He cleared his throat in an attempt to stop himself from looking like a deer in headlights.

"U-Uh…Yeah! Hell yeah! You look perfect!"

"You really think so?"

"Of course! Out of all the dresses I've seen you in this is by far the best!"

Hinata's smile was like a beam from heaven. Naruto had never forgotten that moment. That had been the true beginning of his love story with Hinata. And now that love story was over.

_Maybe I've been here before_

_I know this room I've walked this floor_

_I used to live alone before I knew you_

Hinata ascended the stairs to the front door when she heard a knock. She heard her father already there. Hiashi and Kiba stopped talking as she approached. Kiba managed a smile and she almost didn't recognize him in his nice black tux. She recalled the previous morning when she had left the Training Field after the rest of Squad 7 showed up. She had gone to the Amaguriama dumpling shop where she always met up with her teammates. Everyone was already there. Kiba jumped to his feet when he saw her and Akamaru bounded over to her, yapping excitedly. He jumped up into her arms and licked her face. No matter how upset she was she could always rely on Akamaru to cheer her up.

"Hinata! There you are! We were worried about you!" Kiba exclaimed, running up to her.

"You're never this late Hinata," Kurenai commented. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just over slept," she lied, scratching Akamaru behind the ears.

Kurenai still looked skeptical but didn't push the subject any further. Instead, the team started off towards their mission location. Hinata couldn't stop worrying about the events at the Training Field and she couldn't stop thinking about Sasuke's "friendly suggestion." She glanced at Kiba repeatedly, wondering what made Sasuke think Kiba was a good match for her.

"Is there something on my face?" Kiba suddenly asked.

She hadn't realized that her curious glances had turned into thoughtful stares. She looked away, face red in embarrassment.

"No! No. Its nothing."

"What's up Hinata? Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine…but…"

"But what?"

Hinata did like Kiba but only as a friend. He was a good comrade to have on your side. Was that why Sasuke suggested him? Did he know how good of friends they were? Hinata could see sense in Sasuke's suggestion. Her and Kiba had never fought. They worked well together along with Shino as a well-oiled fighting machine. That's why they were so dangerous on the battlefield. She supposed no harm could come of her going on one date with her best friend.

"Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to the Spring Equinox party tonight?"

"I was invited but I don't think I'm going."

"Really? Why not?"

"I've got no one to go with."

"Oh! Is that all?"

"Yeah, sort of. Plus, I always hate leaving Akamaru home alone."

Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Well…if you change your mind…I need somebody to go with."

"What? But I thought you were going with Naruto."

Hinata bit her lip to stop herself from screaming at him like she had when Neji asked about Naruto.

"We're…just taking a little break tonight…that's all. And I could really use a friend with me there tonight."

She could see the shock in Kiba's eyes when she said she and Naruto were "taking a break." There was a long, awkward pause between them as Kiba thought it over.

"We would just be going as friends right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Nothing serious."

"Well then I guess there's no harm in going."

She smiled at him gratefully and he smiled back.

"Kiba! Hinata! Pick up the pace! We have work to do!"

The two friends hadn't noticed how far ahead Kurenai and Shino had gotten. They apologized to their sensei simultaneously before rushing to catch up. Now they were at the Hyuga estate, preparing to head out.

"Ready?" Kiba asked, offering his arm.

"Yupe," she said as cheerily as possible.

"I promise I won't keep her out to late Hyuga-sama."

"I'll hold you to your promise."

As the two abandoned the Hyuga estate, Hinata couldn't help but recall all the arguments Hiashi and Naruto had had every night before a date. If only her father had gotten along as well with Naruto as he did with Kiba.

_I've seen your flag on the marble arch_

_Love is not a victory march_

_It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

Sasuke wandered the dark streets of Konoha after he'd dried himself off. His feet dragged him to his destination reluctantly. He wasn't looking forward to his date tonight. He disliked Yamanaka Ino with a fiery passion. She was one of his worst stalker fan girls. He knew he'd regret picking her up but he reminded himself that he needed some sort of justice for how Sakura betrayed him. He pondered what she was doing right now. Was she getting into some skimpy cocktail dress to attract all the guys at that party to her? Or was she crying into her pillows, regretting what she had caused? Even though he hated seeing her cry, he couldn't help but hope it was the latter. He wanted her to feel the pain he was feeling as he skulked through the dark streets.

He saw his date outside of the Yamanaka Flower Shop fixing her hair in the shop window. This was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be there. This wasn't the girl he loved. Ino had met his demands and was wearing black. She was in a tiny black cocktail dress that revealed a lot of leg and a fair amount of cleavage. A large black flower pin adorned her hair where it was pulled up and black strap stilettos were on her feet. He sighed to himself and managed an empty smile as he approached her. She heard him coming and stood up straight, putting on a dazzling smile.

"Hey Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad you're here!"

Sasuke snapped himself out of his daze by pulling out his tiny token of appreciation.

"Here," he said offering her the white rose corsage on a black ribbon.

"Aw! Sasuke-kun! You didn't have to do that!"

"It was the least I could do for making you put up with me tonight," he said quietly.

"What do you mean? I'm thrilled to be spending the night out with you!"

She extended her wrist and he placed the corsage around it, all the while imagining it was Sakura's smiling face before him.

_There was a time you let me know_

_What's really going on below_

_But now you never show it to me, do you? _

Sakura sat at her window, staring out into the night, imagining Sasuke's face in the moon. She wished she wasn't such a screw-up. She wished she had just left Naruto alone. She longed for Sasuke to come back to her. She recalled how things were before this nightmare had begun. She hadn't realized it at the time but she had had something good going with Sasuke. He talked to her more than he did with other girls, enough so that she could always tell a little bit of how he was feeling. Then he had really started showing her how he felt and now it was all ruined.

She caught a glimpse of Naruto trudging towards her house from her window. She sighed and went downstairs to meet him at the front door. Her parents were out tonight so they could leave without introductions. She opened the door just as Naruto raised his fist to knock. There was an awkward pause as they stared at one another. Naruto felt his heart tearing up when he wasn't greeted with a kiss from the girl he loved. And that girl wasn't Sakura.

_And remember when I moved in you?_

_The holy dark was moving too_

_And every breath we drew was hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

Sasuke barely knew there was a girl walking beside him as they wandered through the dark streets of Konoha. She was babbling about something he didn't care about so eh tuned her out and stared up at the stars. But it seemed that no matter where he looked he always saw Sakura. The sky was beautiful tonight. There was not a cloud in the sky so every last tiny star was twinkling brightly. He thought that was kind of ironic. After everything that had happened, he thought the night deserved rain clouds. He wished it was raining again so that it could wash away the memory of Sakura's kiss.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Naruto and Sakura walked through the city streets without speaking or looking at one another. They were both contemplating how to solve their mutual problem. If Sakura could recapture Sasuke's heart then Hinata would have no where else to go but to Naruto. Naruto thought the same about Sasuke if he won Hinata back. But Naruto was also doubtful that Hinata would ever want him back. So, if he could never get her back, then his primary goal was revenge. He would make Sasuke suffer for taking away the girl he loved.

_Maybe there's a God above_

_And all I ever learned from love_

_Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you_

Hinata and Kiba approached the Hokage's Mansion. The large building was decorated in lights and the street it sat on was decked in lanterns and banners. They weren't the only people on the street. Couples were lining up at the double doors and handing their invitations to the doormen. Hinata sighed when she saw all the laughing and kissing couples. That was her once. She used to be happy…when she was with Naruto. She felt Kiba's hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to the present.

"Are you okay?" he asked, voice full of concern.

She gulped down the lump in her throat and nodded. She scanned the crowd of couples for the cerulean gaze of the boy she loved but it seemed he had not yet arrived. She sighed again and let Kiba lead her to the front entrance…without Naruto.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sasuke would have never known they were on Hokage Highway if Ino hadn't grabbed his arm excitedly. He flinched at her touch but she didn't seem to notice. The only thing he could think about was how wrong everything was. He wasn't supposed to be here with a bubbling fan girl who only loved him as her trophy. He was supposed to be with the girl he loved and the girl that loved him more than his appearance. Ino dragged him up the road toward the mansion. But he cemented his feet to the ground when he caught a glimpse of Naruto and Sakura across the street.

Sakura froze when she met Sasuke's tormented gaze from across the street. Naruto followed her stare and glared diamond sharp daggers at him which he failed to notice. All he could see were Sakura's broken jade eyes. Naruto's rage got the better of him and he did something reckless and impulsive. He grabbed Sakura by the waist and pulled her up into a kiss. Sasuke felt his heart begin to burn and if Ino hadn't abruptly pulled him away then he was sure he would have strangled Naruto on the spot.

"Stupid Skankura," Ino mumbled to herself, dragging Sasuke to the mansion. "If she thinks she can out-do me then she is so wrong! I'll show her how to please a crowd."

Sasuke didn't see Sakura yank herself out of Naruto's grasp and slap him across the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"Its only customary to kiss if you're on a date."

"Its not when it's a date between friends! What the hell's the matter with you!? I'm trying to do everything in my power to fix this and then you go pull crap like that!? What if Hinata had seen you? Do you want her back or not?"

"All I want right now is for that Uchiha bastard to suffer. If I have to use you to do that then I will! Now come on!"

Naruto grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the entrance. Sakura was in shock. Naruto would never say let alone think such things. She had truly created a monster.

_And it's not a cry you can hear at night_

_It's not somebody who's seen the light_

_It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

Hinata supposed she would have been more impressed with the mansion's décor if she wasn't so lost in thought. The first floor of the Hokage's mansion was a huge empty room most of the time but for parties it was filled to the brim with tables full of food and drink, banners, balloons, chandeliers, and stereos. There was no music playing yet but the large room was abuzz with conversations between shin obi over champagne. Hinata didn't notice any of this however because she was so lost in memories of being with Naruto. This had been the place where they had first kissed about three months ago at the Konoha Annual Christmas Party. She remembered how simple and how sudden it had been. All it took was some mistletoe. She jolted back to reality when Kiba took her hand.

"You okay?" he asked, worry in his feral eyes.

She managed a nod but no smile.

"Listen. I know I'm not the one you really want to be with tonight but we can make the most of it."

"Kiba! Don't talk like that! I love spending time with you. You're my best friend."

"Yeah but I know you wouldn't want to go on a date with me as anything but a friend."

"Kiba you're a great guy. If I didn't have somebody already you'd be my first choice."

Kiba's eyes twinkled at that comment.

"Come on! Let's have some champagne and have some fun."

Hinata took his hand and led him to the beverage table. She would make the most of this night, even if it wasn't Naruto at her arm.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sasuke was dazed by the sight of Naruto and Sakura kissing and the doorman had to ask for his invitation twice before he handed it to him robotically. Ino put on a fake smile and looped her arm through his. He followed her into the mansion like a slave follows his master: blankly, silently, and (reluctantly) obediently. He was vaguely aware of Ino pausing to smile at the crowd of people to show him and herself off. Then she strutted inside, holding her head high. He heard a few murmurs from envious fan girls as they passed by. He also caught a glimpse of Hinata and Kiba sitting at one of the snack tables and laughing over two glasses of champagne. He managed a broken smile at the thought that at least someone was happy tonight.

"I'm going to go mingle a little," Ino announced. "Don't go anywhere."

He twitched his head up in response and she abandoned him at one of the tables to go gloat over her achievement at getting a date with him. He was left alone at a table full of pre-made cocktails. He took one and gulped the whole glass down. He blinked a few times to get over how unbelievably strong the drink was. Tsunade must have been attempting to get everyone hung-over because there was way more alcohol than necessary in the drink. Despite that fact he took another glass and gulped it down in a single shot. From across the room, Hinata saw Sasuke alone guzzling down cocktail after cocktail.

**A/N: Let's pretend they're old enough to drink. ;D**

Hinata excused herself but Kiba was so busy laughing with a friend that his only response was "Yeah, sure." Hinata left her drink at the table and went across the room to Sasuke. He reached for another drink but Hinata placed a hand over his to stop him. He sent her a glare, the first true Uchiha death glare he'd given her. But then his tortured eyes softened a tad.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Drinking. What does it look like?" he replied harshly, roughly pulling his hand away.

"You know drinking doesn't do anything to make the situation better."

"Yeah but it takes the pain away which is all I need right now."

He raised another glass to his lips but she gently pulled it away.

"That would be your fourth glass within sixty seconds. Keep it up and you'll just make yourself sick." He stared ahead, cool gaze glued to the front entrance. She was afraid to follow the path his eyes led to but she forced herself to do so. Naruto and Sakura walked in, arm in arm, neither looking happy to be there. As they walked in, Hinata caught Naruto's tempestuous gaze. She was frightened by all the rage she saw in his eyes. She didn't recognize the cerulean eyes that bore into her. Naruto was no longer the boy she loved. They had turned him cold and harsh.

Naruto deliberately pulled Sakura to the side of the room opposite Sasuke and Hinata. Sasuke could see that Naruto's only intentions tonight were to get revenge on him. The Uchiha doubted that the Kyuubi vessel even knew what he was getting revenge over. If Naruto was smart and still cared about Hinata, then he wouldn't try to get revenge tonight. But he was so blinded by rage that Sasuke doubted he cared about how Hinata would feel about his actions tonight. Sasuke met Sakura's gaze from behind Naruto. She glanced at him through her soft hair and he could see regret and fear in her eyes. That was all he could see before she was forced away from him once again. Sasuke handed Hinata a cocktail without looking at her.

"Here. You're going to need this."

Hinata stared at the drink before taking it.

"Its going to be a rough night."

They both downed their drinks at the same time.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura yanked her arm out of Naruto's hand and glared at him before grabbing herself a cocktail. Naruto leaned against the table and glowered across the room at Hinata and Sasuke downing drinks together. He contemplated how to get his ideal revenge on Sasuke without chasing Hinata away forever. He knew being with Sakura as her date pissed Sasuke off and he knew that kiss had shattered him. He was lucky Hinata hadn't seen that but he was sure Sasuke wasn't going to keep that from her.

Sakura glanced at Naruto. He wasn't paying any attention to her. Her grip on the cocktail glass tightened. She refrained from tossing the drink in his face. She hated him. She was convinced that she hated him. No matter what efforts she made to fix the mess she made, Naruto would ruin it again with his petty battle against Sasuke. If he wanted revenge on anybody, he should have wanted it on her. Sasuke had done nothing wrong. She understood now that all the times she'd seen Hinata and Sasuke together had been mere friendly associations. She knew Hinata must have seen her kiss Naruto last night and Sasuke must have been there to help her through it. He was a good guy. He would do something like that.

Sakura gnawed on her lower lip. She still had to apologize to Hinata about everything, even if it was meaningless. She gulped down the rest of her extremely strong drink before taking a breath and heading over to the table where Hinata and Sasuke were. She knew she was supposed to be focusing on Hinata but she couldn't stop her eyes from drifting to Sasuke as she approached. She couldn't get over the kisses he had given her earlier that day. She couldn't stop thinking about how he poured his heart out to her and admitted everything she had always wanted to hear from him. She was heartbroken when he met her eyes for a brief moment and deliberately walked away as she approached.

"Where are you going?" Hinata asked him.

"Somewhere that isn't here."

At first Hinata thought he was trying to get away from her but then she glanced back and saw Sakura. Her heart instantly frosted over.

"Don't drink to much!" she called after Sasuke.

But he grabbed a cocktail off the tray of a passing serving girl. Hinata sighed and sipped her own drink, ignoring the whore standing beside her. Sakura bit her lip when Hinata pointedly turned away from her.

"Um…hi," she tried.

Hinata shot her an icy glance but Sakura did her best not to be intimidated. Even if it meant nothing to Hinata, apologizing for her mistakes meant a lot to Sakura.

"Listen…I know we don't know each other to well and I know I've been a bit of a…whore…lately…"

"That doesn't even begin to describe you," Hinata scoffed.

"Yeah…I know…I know that I've been really…reckless this past week."

"Oh spit it out already!" Hinata finally snapped. "Nothing you can say will make up for what you did anyway!"

Sakura lowered her gaze, her hair hiding her eyes.

"I know," she murmured. "I know nothing I can say will fix what I did but I just need you to know how sorry I am about all of this."

"Sorry? _Now _you're sorry? It's a little late for being sorry now!"

"I know. But I promise I'm going to find a way to fix this--"

"Don't bother! You've done enough."

Hinata sent her one last stormy glare before hurrying across the room, back to Kiba. Sakura couldn't stop fittling with her bracelets after that. She took a few deep breaths to even her breathing. She knew she deserved to be treated like dirt after all she had done but it still hurt to be called a whore over and over again. She pulled herself together the best she could. Everyone else may have thought it wasn't possible to get Naruto and Hinata back together but she still had hope that she could do something, especially with Sasuke on her side.

She looked across the room at him. His eyes were stuck to her like two onyx magnets on a refrigerator door. Despite the massive amounts of alcohol clouding over his eyes, Sakura could still see how he felt about her. She saw anger spark up in the clouded onyx depths when she looked at him but it didn't last. His gaze soon saddened and softened. She managed a hopeful smile in return. He blinked and set his drink down and was about to cross the room to meet her. Her heart lifted when he took a step towards her but was crushed when Ino came and ruined it.

"There you are!" Ino reprimanded him. "I've been looking all over for you! Come on! They're going to start the music soon!"

Ino grabbed his arm and dragged him away. He cast one last longing glance over his shoulder at Sakura before he was engulfed by the crowd.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Hinata plopped down in her seat beside Kiba and downed another drink.

"You okay?" Kiba asked.

"Never better," she grumbled.

"Are you sure? If you're not up to this we can go home."

"Nonsense. Come on. The music's playing."

She pulled him to his feet and led him to the dance floor, her stormy gaze always on Naruto across the room. The blonde met her gaze just as furiously and grabbed Sakura as well. Sakura was caught off guard when Naruto's rough hand clasped her wrist. He didn't bother asking if she wanted to dance or not. She was bout to resist following him but decided against it. She'd have to continue playing on his side for the moment.

The three unrequited couples vanished from one another's sight as they got lost in the crowd of drinking, off-duty shinobi and the pounding rock music. Ino danced like a ho, shaking every asset she owned. She constantly attempted to get as close to Sasuke as possible. But Sasuke refused to return her pornographic actions. He side-stepped away from her and searched the dancing crowd for Sakura.

Sakura and Naruto swayed a little to the beat, neither paying attention to the other, but instead searching for the ones they truly wanted to dance with. Sakura found Sasuke the same time he found her. The music stopped for her and she pushed her way through the partiers between them.

Hinata managed a smile in return when Kiba smiled at her as they danced until she saw Naruto. He was standing alone on the dance floor staring at her. His deep blue eyes were filled with hurt and longing and an apology she had failed to hear. Kiba followed her gaze.

"Go on," he encouraged, giving her a nudge in Naruto's direction.

Naruto was blind to everything besides Hinata so when she moved he thought it was of her own accord and not from Kiba's encouragement. He started through the crowd towards her. Hinata glanced at Kiba and he nodded towards Naruto. She smiled and battled her way towards Naruto.

"I'm sorry!" Sakura called to Sasuke.

The distance between them was lessening. He could hear her over the music.

"No! I should have listened to you!" he shouted back, still fighting to reach her.

"Naruto! I'm sorry!" Hinata shouted over the music.

"_I'm _sorry! I should have been honest with you!"

"I should have listened to you!"

"Sasuke I love you!"

"Hinata…"

Just as they pushed through the last person between them…the music stopped. The lights went out. There was a murmur of confused voices and then a huge crash in the darkness. There was screaming, banging, crashing…no one could see the danger that was assaulting them. A hand wrapped around Sasuke's throat and he was held against the wall. Naruto was hit in the head and thrown to the ground where someone pressed a foot against his head. The lights went on.

"So this is the infamous Kyuubi of Konoha un," a voice said from above Naruto.

"What the hell--"

Sasuke stared into blood red eyes in shock. It almost felt like he was looking into a mirror. They looked so much alike. The red-eyed man that held him against the wall smirked.

"Its been a while, my foolish little brother."

**A/N: YAYZ!! Plot twist! Yeah I didn't get this up when I wanted but oh well. My damn term paper got in the way of my fanfic time. I was going to do the whole Akatsuki hostage crisis this chapter but then I heard that song and I just had to write it in. There will only be three more chapters but the next one will be really long. Next chapter will be the Akatsuki crisis. Ch. 9 will be the aftermath and Ch.10 will be the epilogue. After that I'm back in the yaoi business babeh!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	8. Hostility

**Chapter VIII. "Hostility"**

"So _this _is the Kyuubi vessel un?"

Naruto was pressed closer to the floor when he tried to move. He _hated _being talked down to like that. But this person was strong. He couldn't get up.

"Who the hell are you?" Naruto growled.

Sasuke was pressed closer to the wall when he tried to attack his monster of a brother.

"Why the hell are you here?" Sasuke managed to choke out, clawing at the hand grasping his neck.

"I thought you would be happy to see me Sasuke," Itachi said with a smirk. "Its been so long since we saw each other."

"Shut up you worthless bastard!"

Hinata disentangled herself from the crowd of panicking guests. There was a hole in the ceiling where a giant clay bird had fallen through. There were chunks of ceiling surrounding the still bird. That must have been the cause of the loud crash that had sent everyone into a panic. There was a man standing on one of the bird's wings with red hair and she recognized the distinct uniform of the Akatsuki. She broke free of the crowd and then saw Naruto on the floor with a blond Akatsuki member stepping on his head.

"Naruto!"

Both blonds looked up at her.

"Hinata! Get out of here now!" Naruto warned.

The blond member of Akatsuki blinked and glanced between the two before a broad smile spread across his face.

"Aw un! How kawaii un! Its 'Beauty And The Beast' all over again Sasori-danna!" he squealed to the red-head on the clay bird.

"Quit being such a fan girl Deidara and do your job or I'll do it for you," the red-haired man apparently named Sasori sighed, stepping off of the bird lazily.

"Itachi-san. I know you're having a heartfelt trip down memory lane right now but we can't waste time with him."

Sasuke recognized Hoshigaki Kisame from their last encounter many years ago. Itachi didn't glance at his partner but continued to watch Sasuke.

"Have you done your part?" he asked Kisame.

"No one's getting out anytime soon."

"Good."

"Sasuke!"

Sakura found her way to the front of the crowd. Itachi glared at her lazily.

"How cute. You got a girlfriend."

Sasuke looked to Sakura.

"Stay…out of it," he rasped.

Sakura could hear that Sasuke could barely breathe. She had to do something. Her searching eyes found one of the tables.

"Kisame. Find Tsunade and give her out demands."

A smirk crossed the swordsmen's face and he vanished. Hinata heard Sakura call for Sasuke and couldn't help but glance over. She was torn. She didn't know what to do. She loved them both. She wanted to help both of them. She was afraid if she helped one she'd lose the other.

"Hinata!"

Kiba came running through the crowd.

"Come on! I have to get you out of here!"

He grabbed her arm and tried to pull her to safety. She yanked her arm out of his grip.

"What the hell are you thinking? I'm not leaving! We have to do something!"

"No! We can't!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I've tried using jutsu Hinata! Nothing's working right!"

"What?"

"Ooooo un! Love triangle un!"

"Shut up Deidara."

Sasori punched Deidara over the head and he stepped off of Naruto with a whimper. Naruto was about to steal that opportunity to escape but Sasori grasped his hair and gave a hard tug to drag him to his feet. Hinata winced at Naruto's yelp.

"Leave him alone!"

Sakura was about to drive a knife she found on one of the tables into Itachi's shoulder. She should have known Itachi would have seen her coming. He caught her wrist so fast it took her a moment to process that the knife had been twisted from her grasp and she was on her knees.

"Some things never change do they Sasuke?" he said. "They'll still do anything for you won't they?"

Itachi applied the slightest amount of pressure onto her wrist, twisting it to the point where she thought he was going to snap it in two. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out in pain. Sasuke saw that she was in pain and glared at Itachi menacingly.

"Leave her alone you son of a bitch!"

He was only pushed back further into the wall. He didn't understand how he wasn't dead yet.

"Why would you talk about Mom that way?" he antagonized. "I thought you loved her."

"Don't you dare--Ack!"

When he tried to talk Itachi just squeezed his neck tighter. He stared into his own eyes coldly and ruthlessly. Sasuke knew what he was going to do. He'd fallen for the same trick last time. Sasuke couldn't close his eyes in time. The activation was to fast.

"Maybe its been to long since you saw her. Maybe its time you reunited with her."

Sakura recognized what was happening. During her years as an obsessed Sasuke stalker, she'd dug up everything she could find about him. That included a few powers of the Sharingan. Though not all that information was available since the Uchiha records were kept extremely confidential. But from the tidbits she'd read and Sasuke's last encounter with Itachi, she knew something terrible was going to happen. She clasped her hand over the one holding her wrist in an attempt to free herself.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!"

But it was to late. The Mangekyou was active.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Deidara jumped in Hinata's path to Naruto and Sasori. She skidded to a halt and made the hand sign to activate her Byakugan. But nothing happened. Her chakra did nothing. She didn't feel the familiar sensation of chakra flowing up through her body to enhance her eyes.

"Why won't it work?" she gasped.

Deidara cackled before her.

"Leader should have invented that stuff sooner un. We could have had this village a long time ago un!"

"_Please _shut up," Sasori mumbled.

"I can't help it un! I'm bored un! Where's Kisame with that bitchy Hokage un?"

"Quit babbling and find a quiet way to entertain yourself _please_?" Sasori said, exasperated. "I swear, sometimes I wish he was more like Itachi. _He _never gives me a headache," Sasori mumbled to himself.

"What the hell are you jackasses doing here?" Naruto spat.

"None of your business dog."

Sasori tossed him to the side like he was nothing and he hit the wall with a thud.

"Naruto!"

But Deidara was still in her way.

"Bring it Sweetheart un," he taunted, taking the offensive position.

Hinata backed away. She didn't know what to do without her jutsu or her weapons. She was never good at hand-to-hand combat. Deidara smirked.

"Stupid girl un."

He lunged to attack. She put her hands up in a defensive block. From out of nowhere, Neji appeared and deflected Deidara's attack. Deidara slid back and blinked in stunned shock. It was obvious he hadn't seen him coming.

"Neji? What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass. What else does it look like?"

"But what can you do without your jutsu? I mean, you're good at hand-to-hand but he'll have you beat in an instant!"

Neji smirked confidently.

"My jutsu works fine."

"What? But…"

"Maybe if you didn't have so much to drink yours would work too."

She gave him a questioning look but he turned back to Deidara.

"Isn't that right? You slipped a chakra depressant in all the drinks here didn't you? You knew all the shinobi in the village would be here and everyone would be drinking."

"Aren't we a smug little bastard un?"

"I'll admit your plan was pretty good. You never planned ahead for the ones who wouldn't drink though."

"Well aren't we a friggin' saint un? Go to hell you little brat un," Deidara spat.

"Deidara. I'll take care of this brat. Go wreak some havoc," Sasori said as he approached.

"Really un?" Deidara squealed. "You mean it Sasori-danna un?"

It looked like Deidara was about to give him a hug, but with one stony, glacial glance from Sasori, he spun around and went towards his parked bird. He whistled and the bird that Hinata had thought was immobile moved its head in the direction of Deidara's whistling.

"Here boy un! Time to show off your new tricks un!"

Hinata couldn't tell if the bird was excited but it hopped out of the crater it had made when it dropped through the ceiling and fluttered to the blond member of Akatsuki. With a maniacal cackle, Deidara mounted the bird and they took flight. They swooped low over the crowd, terrorizing the drunk shin obi. Neji and Sasori lunged at one another and before Kiba could drag her away, Hinata was running towards Naruto.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura reminded herself that if she ever fought Uchiha Itachi to never punch him. He was like a statue. No matter how many times she hit him to try and distract him from completing his jutsu, she just hurt herself more than she did him. She gazed up at Sasuke, his onyx eyes locked with Itachi's and full of terror. She didn't know what exactly the Uchiha clan's secret jutsu entailed but she knew it was so bad that it traumatized Sasuke into a coma the last time he faced Itachi.

Sakura noticed Sasuke trying to struggle out of Itachi's grip, his distant eyes filling more and more with horror. Sakura didn't know what to do. Her jutsus didn't work. She had no weapons at her disposal. No matter how hard she hit Itachi, he wouldn't flinch. She could do nothing. She would have to watch Sasuke suffer. She knew begging would do nothing to stop him. Sasuke went still and his eyelids slid down halfway. His hands dropped away from the one around his neck. For a moment, Sakura thought he was dead.

"Sasuke!!"

Itachi closed his eyes and reopened them. Like he was tossing away feathers, Itachi catapulted Sasuke and Sakura across the room and into a wall. Sakura lost her breath when her back hit the wall. She tasted blood in her mouth and her vision was staticky but she managed to stay conscious. She swallowed the metallic taste in her mouth and shook her head to stay awake. She looked up to make sure Itachi wasn't attacking again. He was far too distracted to come after them again. She immediately fell down beside Sasuke when she determined it was safe to say Itachi wouldn't attack them. Sasuke was still and silent.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!"

She pulled him up into a sitting position and leaned him against the wall. His onyx hair hung in his face and his eyes were gray and empty. It almost brought her to tears. She bit her lip to hold back her sobs. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He was unresponsive.

"Sasuke. Sasuke. Wake up."

She shook him gently but he still didn't respond. She felt her eyes getting hot and her throat getting tight. She had no idea what to do. She was no medical ninja. The ones that were in that room couldn't use their jutsu and were being scattered and terrorized by the member of Akatsuki that specialized in clay and explosives. There was nothing she could do. She was pathetic. She was helpless. She had no idea how to help Sasuke through whatever curse Itachi had laid upon him. She squeezed Sasuke's unmoving hand, tears falling freely down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Sasuke. "I'm so sorry Sasuke."

Meanwhile, Itachi's distraction involved an extremely drunk teenager in a green tuxedo with an orange tie.

"Hwaaaa!! You dare enter my homeland and terrorize my womaaaan?"

Itachi stared unblinkingly at Rock Lee who was standing in a swaying, fighting stance before him.

"You'll pay for that you…you evil bastard! *Hiccup* Nooobody gets away with that while Rock Lee, the Green Beast of Konoha, is alive!"

Lee continued on a drunken rant, earning a few, emotionless blinks from Itachi. He also earned the attention of Sasori, who had an unconscious Hyuga over his shoulder. He stood beside Itachi and slowly tilted his head to the side as he stared at Lee.

"What is he doing?"

Lee stopped at the new voice and slowly turned his cloudy gaze on Sasori. He recognized his squad mate slung over Sasori's shoulder like a rag doll.

"HWAAAAGH!!"

Sasori actually jumped at this outburst.

"How dare you, you vile demon! I'll make you pay for hurting my frieeend!!"

Lee lunged at the two, stoic Akatsuki members. They blinked simultaneously and didn't budge. Lee was just raising his fist to land a blow on Itachi's face but a skull-shaped hilt of a very large sword hit the back of his head. The drunk teenager tumbled to the floor at Itachi's and Sasori's feet, knocked senseless by the blow. The two gazed at Kisame, not giving any hint of their feelings on the matter.

"Man I hate that kid. He's just as bad as his ridiculous sensei, if not worse."

Sasori smirked. Itachi did not. Sasori dropped Neji beside Lee.

"Kisame. Round up some of your clones to tie these two idiots up," Sasori demanded.

Two water clones seemed to appear out of nowhere and dragged the two away. Sasori turned his back on Itachi and Kisame and swept his pale gaze over the chaos his own partner was causing.

"Kisame. Our demands have been made?" he asked without looking at him.

"They have. All ready for your fabulous negotiation skills Itachi-sama," the swordsmen said to the Uchiha.

"Sasori. You know what to do," Itachi said.

Sasori nodded.

"Try to keep your partner under control," he added as he walked away.

Sasori glanced back at him once irritated. Sometimes he liked Itachi…when he didn't speak. Sasori looked back to Deidara as he swooped over the guests. He was whooping and hollering, cackling and taunting. Sasori sighed.

"I can't make any promises," he mumbled.

Sometimes Sasori liked Itachi. What he didn't like was how smug he was when he rarely spoke of the rest of them. But the one thing Sasori did agree on with Itachi was how annoying his partner was.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Hinata helped Naruto to his feet as he rubbed his sore head.

"Ow. Where is that piece of Akatsuki trash?" he growled. "I'll tear him to pieces!"

Hinata held him back when he started to storm away.

"Naruto, don't! You can't do anything anyway! No one's jutsus are working! What makes you think you're different?"

"Because _I am _different! Remember? I have a whole other crapload of chakra waiting in the wings. Whatever they put in the drinks may have depleted my chakra, but I bet it sure as hell did little to keep the Kyuubi at bay!"

Naruto formed the hand sign to focus his Kyuubi chakra. But Hinata quickly pulled apart his hands and held them in her own before he could summon the fox. He glared at her but she matched it with a stern stare.

"Why not?" he demanded to know.

"This is _Akatsuki _we're dealing with. They're _demon hunters _Naruto. Exorcists. The Kyuubi is exactly what they want. It's the only reason they would come here. If you set that chakra free, it'll just be easier to manipulate. You can't be so reckless all the time Naruto! If you don't start thinking, you're going to end up getting yourself killed!"

They stared at one another in still silence as chaos and panic ensued around them. But all they could see were each other's eyes. Naruto's eyes softened first. He couldn't stay angry at her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "About everything."

"Me too. I swear nothing happened," she said, referring to Sasuke.

"I wish I could say the same," he replied, lowering his eyes in shame.

Hinata was a little broken hearted at Naruto's admittance to not being entirely faithful to her. But she didn't let that overcome her. She was actually relieved that he was actually honest with her. She would discuss their relationship with him later when Akatsuki had been dealt with.

"Hinata!"

The two jumped at Kiba's call. The brunette ran up to them, ducking low as he kept an eye on Deidara. When he made it to them, he gripped her arm.

"Come on! I'm getting you out of here!"

"No! Kiba! I'm not going anywhere!"

"I promised myself _and _your father that I wouldn't let anything happen to you tonight. I'm not about to break the promise. Now let's go!"

"And where, pray tell, do you think you're going to go?"

The three jumped into a defensive position and faced Sasori.

"In case you hadn't noticed, my colleague has stationed clones at every possible exit."

The three looked to the front entrance to confirm his statement. Sure enough, the doors were shut and most likely locked and guarded by Itachi's partner (who Naruto vaguely remembered as being named Hoshigaki Kisame). Obviously, it wasn't the real Kisame. Sasori had just said clones were stationed.

"Nobody's getting out. Nobody's getting in."

Naruto glared at him and it was especially difficult not to attack Sasori after seeing that smug look on his face. Sasori's loud, sharp whistle caught them off guard.

"Deidara! That's enough!"

The clay bird balked and came to a halt.

"Awwww un! But you said I could wreak havoc un!" Deidara whined from atop the bird.

"Time's up. Get down here!"

Deidara and the bird drooped in disappointment and floated down to land beside Sasori. The red-headed ninja jumped onto the bird's head and addressed the still crowd. They had been brought to attention by Sasori's whistle.

"Listen up Konoha scum! As of now you're all Akatsuki's hostages. Try anything 'noble' and you will be dealt with. So sit tight and drink up!"

Sasori's voice went from demanding, to disgusted, to venomous, to carefree all in one statement. He dropped down on the head of the bird and did nothing. Deidara groaned loudly and lay on his back on the back of the bird. All was silent. Nobody knew what to do. They were all revered Konoha shin obi and they were all powerless. No one had expected an enemy infiltration. Nobody had come prepared to battle four S-Ranked criminals at a cocktail party. Their were a few ashamed murmurs before people started wandering around aimlessly and slumping down in their seats. Kiba growled.

"I can't believe we were this stupid!"

"I can," Sasori snickered and the two partners laughed amongst themselves.

Naruto turned a glare on them.

"Come again Akatsuki trash?" he spat.

Sasori narrowed his eyes and slowly got to his feet.

"You want to make something out of it brat?"

Hinata quickly grabbed both Naruto's and Kiba's arms before they could lash out again.

"No! Neither of them do!" she said to Sasori. "We'll be quiet."

Before Sasori could say anything else, Hinata dragged Naruto and Kiba a safe distance away.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" Kiba protested.

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "You know I can kick that jerk's ass in a heartbeat!"

"I don't care what either of you are capable of!" she scolded, letting them go and turning her wintry gaze on them. "Both of you! Stop being so reckless! I don't want anyone else getting hurt tonight!"

"Anyone else?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned and headed in the opposite direction. Naruto felt a twang in his heart when he saw she was heading towards Sasuke.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

First, Sasuke had started trembling. Sakura tried to stay calm as he curled in on himself and held his head. He started whimpering and murmuring things. She tried her best to keep both him and herself calm. She didn't know what Itachi had done to him but she could tell it must've been some sort of genjutsu. It was obvious he was trapped in some sort of illusion. He was seeing things she couldn't. She didn't know how to comfort him if she didn't know what he was afraid of. She had never seen Sasuke like that. She had never seen him so terrified and powerless.

"Its okay," she whispered. "Everything's okay. Sasuke. You have to wake up. No one's going to hurt you. I promise. Everything's alright."

Every time she touched him, he flinched away from her and just seemed to shiver more in terror. She didn't know how to comfort him if he wouldn't even let her touch him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "About everything."

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't say she was sorry enough. She knew that she couldn't have possibly predicted that Akatsuki would make an appearance tonight but instead of spending the past month flirting with Naruto, she could have been focusing more on training. Then maybe she could have been a little bit stronger against Itachi.

"What happened?"

Sakura was pulled out of her own grief when Hinata appeared at her side. She stared at her in disbelief. It took her a while to register why Hinata was there. For a second, she thought the question was directed at her. She wondered why in the hell Hinata was concerned about her after all she'd put her through. But then Sakura realized Hinata wasn't there for her. She was there for Sasuke. Sakura got slightly possessive when she realized this. She had come to terms with Hinata and Sasuke becoming close friends but couldn't help feeling on edge. She quickly shoved aside her possessiveness, realizing Hinata was trained in medicine even if she couldn't use her jutsu. She probably knew more about Sasuke's condition than she did. She shook herself out of it and tried to concentrate.

"Um…I don't know. Itachi did something to him. It had something to do with the Sharingan I think."

A determined gleam entered her eyes and she knelt before Sasuke. She touched his knee but he flinched away from her too.

"Sasuke, you've got to snap out of it," she said to him. "Its not real. Its just a genjutsu. You know that Sasuke."

But Sasuke remained a shivering, whimpering mess. Then, all of a sudden, he yelped and one of his hands went to his neck. It was easy to recognize the activation of the Curse Mark.

"Oh no!" Sakura cried, nearly tearing her hair out. "Why does this always happen?"

"Just calm down."

Sakura wasn't sure who she was talking to again. Maybe she was talking to both of them.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Sakura glanced up and found her arch rival, Ino, pushing through the crowd.

"What have you done to my Sasuke-kun!?"

As Sakura watched Ino come towards them, an overwhelming swelling of rage bubbled up inside her. That rage wasn't towards Ino but towards herself. When she looked at Ino, she recognized the girl she had been that past week. She recognized a lying, cheating, deceitful, whore of a girl. She got to her feet and stepped around Hinata and Sasuke, placing herself between them and Ino.

"Move it or lose it Forehead!"

Ino tried to push past her but Sakura pushed back. Ino looked bewildered. It looked as if she was going to say, "How dare you come between me and Sasuke!" But Sakura began before she could. Her words were directed at herself more than Ino. All she could see was herself and her coming back to ruin everything again.

"Everything's always about you isn't it?"

Her words were laced with venom and hatred but they were aimed at herself. Ino was just the vessel to embody all the things she hated about herself. She thought apologizing to Naruto and Hinata would make what she'd done a little bit better. But it hadn't. She hated herself. She needed to scream at herself. She needed to make herself understand that no matter how many times she apologized, she would always have this dark cloud over her life.

"Excuse me!?" Ino exclaimed incredulously.

"You just _have _to be the center of attention. Everything's about you. You think you're so cool don't you? You're not! You're just a little whore! Nobody likes you! Stop acting like you care so much about Sasuke! Admit it! The second another more interesting guy wanders across you're path you won't even remember Sasuke's name!"

"That's not--" Ino began to protest.

But Sakura didn't let her get a word in. She had to much to say and no time to wait for her petty comebacks. She didn't see Ino in that skimpy, black, cocktail dress. She saw the whore she had been. She didn't see Ino's hurt, crystal eyes. She was looking into her own, emerald, deceitful gaze. She would make her go away. She was going to get rid of this Dark Sakura before she hurt anyone else she cared about.

"You're such a worthless slut! You never cared about making Sasuke fall in love with you! Everything you've done is only for yourself! All you've ever cared about is being everyone's lapdog! All you've ever done is ruined everything! All you've done is gotten 50 more sets of eyes on you! Did you think that dress was going to impress everyone here? All its done is proven what a hooker you really are!"

Sakura didn't see the tears in Ino's eyes. She didn't see the trembling lips or shivering shoulders. She couldn't see anyone but her darker half. The Sakura in the black dress just smirked at her, a condescending gleam in her eyes. She started towards her.

"It doesn't matter what you say. I'm taking Sasuke."

What Ino said (though that's now what Sakura heard) was, "You better shut up Sakura. I'll make you regret this."

"Sasuke will never love you," Sakura spat to her darker half.

"He's mine," Dark Sakura hissed, pushing Sakura back.

"Shut up!" Ino screamed, pushing Sakura as if to start a fight.

"Stay away from him!"

Sakura grabbed Dark Sakura by the shoulders and threw more than pushed her with all her might. The power of Sakura's trust sent Ino flying back and crashing into one of the hors d'oeuvre tables that had remained standing after the Akatsuki's entrance. The two girls had accumulated quite a few spectators during Sakura's scrutiny. Two of those spectators had been Sasori and Deidara. Deidara rolled onto his stomach, propping his head in his hands, watching the spectacle intently.

"Catfight," he mumbled to Sasori from the corner of his mouth.

Sasori positioned himself so he was facing the fight as well. He smirked in excitement. When the pink-haired kuinoichi pushed the blond into one of the hors d'oeuvre tables, the two Akatsuki members' snickers went unnoticed. The two girls' comrades gasped and a ripple of shocked murmurs brushed through the crowd. Ino was soaked in alcohol. Her dress was stained with martinis. Her make-up was running with wine. Her hair was dripping with champagne. Sakura advanced towards her, raising a clenched fist. The shinobi rushed forward to stop her but one particular genin beat them all to it. Everyone was shocked when it was Uzumaki Naruto that caught Sakura's blow. The pink-haired girl turned her bloodshot, flaming gaze on him.

"Get off of me you no good son of a bitch!" she screeched, trying to pull out of Naruto's grasp.

He gazed back into her eyes with cold, indifferent cerulean orbs. His gaze wasn't as stormy and icy was it had been all night. They were cold in a calm way. His usually expressive eyes were now impassive and patient. They were stern and reprimanding. Without a single word, Naruto pulled Sakura away from the crowd. Though he hadn't pulled her in the rough, sharp jerks like he had throughout the night, Sakura's mind was to shattered to realize he was being gentle. She protested and cursed at him. She tried pulling away from him but he held firm.

Hinata watched Naruto lead Sakura away. She realized that she'd always be suspicious when she saw them together alone. She realized that the sight of that kiss in the rain would always haunt her. It had scarred her. She knew there'd always be hostility in her towards Sakura. She wished Akatsuki wasn't there. She wished they could sort everything out. She forced her ever watchful gaze away from Naruto and Sakura and back onto Sasuke. He was getting worse. Hysteria was settling in. The Curse Mark continued to spread across his skin and made his eyes swirl with the Sharingan. His hands tangled in his hair and his body shook violently as he stared ahead at nothing. He looked small. Hinata barely recognized the patient, collected, stoic Uchiha from earlier. She recognized herself.

She recognized the person she had been the night before. She recognized a wreck. She recognized terror, hurt, distress, and remorse. She didn't know what Itachi had made him see. But she knew how to get him out of it. She gently placed her hands on either side of his face. He pulled back in fright but she held onto him. She gazed calmly into his petrified gaze. He froze under her gaze.

"Sasuke. You have to listen to me. What you're seeing isn't real. Its all an illusion. You're safe."

She knew the genjutsu must have been extremely advanced. Even if she was able to use her jutsu, she knew it would still take a while to break. She hoped her alternative method would work. Instead of focusing on his mind, Hinata focused on his heart. She hoped she could speak to him in a way that drove the terror away and hopefully the genjutsu as well. He remained shocked still, staring into her eyes like a deer staring into headlights. She held his gaze without blinking or moving her eyes.

"This has happened before. It's a trick and you're falling for it. You're smarter than that Sasuke. You know what you're seeing isn't real. You know its all fake. Its safe. Come out of it. We need you out here in the real world."

Sasuke's eyes twitched in some sort of response. She saw the hands in his hair relax ever so slightly in her peripheral vision. She didn't lose eye contact with him even after the response.

"Its okay," she soothed. "Its safe out here."

Every word she spoke seemed to make the terror in his spinning eyes recede ever so slightly. She knew she had a long way to go. She tried her best to tune out the murmuring crowd, Ino's sobbing curses, the Akatsuki's snickering, and Naruto and Sakura's distant conversation. She focused on Sasuke and nothing else. He was her main priority at the moment. She had to trust Naruto with Sakura. She had to save Sasuke. She did love him but not in the way Naruto and Sakura had thought. She loved him as a friend and for being there when she was so close to the brink of insanity. Now it was her turn to pull him back from the edge.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

"Let go of me!"

When Naruto had gotten Sakura a good distance away from the crowd he gladly let go. She yanked her hand away and sent him a bloodshot glower before trying to escape back towards Sasuke and Ino. Naruto didn't let her pass. It looked like she was seriously going to fight him just to get by. As gently, but also sternly, as possible, Naruto pushed Sakura back to the corner. She overreacted to his touch and ended up slamming her back against the wall. She winced but continued to glare venomously at him.

"Get out of my way," she warned through her teeth.

"Just calm down--"

"How can I calm down when your bitch is all over the man I love?"

Naruto was oh so tempted to look back at Hinata and Sasuke. But he summoned enough will power to keep his eyes on Sakura. He had to trust Hinata. He knew something was wrong with Sakura. He knew she was overreacting to the slightest things. He knew in his heart that Hinata would never throw herself at Sasuke.

"Calm down Sakura," he said as calmly as he could and just as sternly. "Try to relax."

"I'll relax once she's gone!"

Naruto held her back from going after Ino. He didn't realize it wasn't Ino she sought to be rid of. It was herself. It was the girl she had been the past month. She wanted to kill her so she could go back to normal. She wanted to be Haruno Sakura again. She wanted her title of being the smartest in her class back. She didn't want to be the village whore. She wanted to hone her skills to impress Sasuke instead of using her body to do so. If Sasuke wouldn't have her after all she'd done, she'd understand. She knew she didn't deserve him. She wanted a chance to try again. She wanted to try and make everyone forget about her past wrongs. She wanted to pretend none of that had ever happened. She couldn't do that with her darker side still standing.

"Sakura! Stop it!"

When she was pushed back once again, she slapped Naruto across the face. The sound seemed to echo around the large room. It only caught the attention of Deidara and Sasori though. The two bored Akatsuki members watched the fight intently.

"Bitchslapped un," Deidara snickered.

Sasori nodded in agreement. Naruto calmly looked back at Sakura, a red mark forming on his cheek. Her eyes were so full of rage, and despair, and desperation. He didn't recognize his old squad mate. All he saw was a frightened little girl that need his help.

"_Stay away from me,_" Sakura growled.

"You have every right to be mad at me Sakura," he said slowly. "I treated you like dirt. Take whatever anger you have out on me. Leave Ino out of this. She didn't deserve any of that and you know it."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Naruto was confused by that. He stared at her and gathered that she had no idea it was Ino she had been screaming at.

"I could care less about that whiny slut. All I want is for that damn whore to burn in hell!"

Once again, Sakura lunged in the direction of Ino. Naruto held her back, once again. There was definitely something wrong with Sakura.

"Who is it Sakura? There's only Ino!"

Sakura pulled back and gave him a confused look. She glanced between him and Ino multiple times. He could see her rage fading more and more to desperation with each glance. He could see that the reality of the situation was sinking in. Tears formulated at the rim of her eyes and she placed her hands over her mouth in shock.

"N-Naruto…w-what…did I do?"

Naruto carefully placed his hands on her upper arms.

"Its okay Sakura. Nobody got hurt."

She looked at him, jade eyes filled with terror at her own actions. She broke down into hysterical sobs, placing her face in her hands. Naruto hugged her. He was careful not to give her the impression that he was being romantic. Despite all she had done to him and all the pain she'd caused for him he still cared about her. He still cared about their friendship and the bond they'd developed through working as a team. He didn't want her to lose her mind. He wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

"What's wrong with me?" Sakura whimpered into his shirt.

"I don't know. But we'll find a way to fix this. I promise."

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Hinata had been trying to coax Sasuke out of the genjutsu for quite some time. It was a long and tedious process but she could definitely see Sasuke beginning to come out of it. The Curse Marks had slowly begun to recede and his body had relaxed. His hands were no longer tearing at his hair but instead rested on the floor. His eyes that still harbored the Sharingan were now half-lidded and the fear was slipping away. She could tell he was close to breaking free. She had been talking to him the whole time, reminding him of the things in his life that were good. She did her best to comfort him and she could see it was working. All he needed was one last tug before he was clear of the edge. She knew exactly how to bring him back.

"You know, Sakura's been having a really rough time since you got stuck like this. I think she really does love you despite all that's happened. She may have been doing it in an unclear way but I think everything she did was for you. You're the only thing that's ever mattered to her. We all know it."

There was a flicker in Sasuke's eyes from red to black. He blinked once and the Sharingan. He shook, his head and Hinata withdrew her hands. He blinked multiple times and looked around.

"What happened?"

Hinata sighed in relief. He was back, Sasuke looked to her questioningly.

"Four members of the Akatsuki are holding us hostage," she explained. "Itachi used some sort of genjutsu on you and you were stuck in an illusion."

Sasuke's gaze hardened.

"The Tsukiyomi," he growled.

Hinata bit her lip but said nothing more. There was silence between them as Sasuke silently cursed himself for falling for Itachi's trick a second time. Sasuke looked up and scanned his surroundings, searching for the man who ruined his life. Instead he found two bored looking Akatsuki members he didn't recognize, Ino drenched in alcohol, and Sakura crying into Naruto's shirt. His eyes narrowed at that.

"What happened?" he demanded more than asked, eyes glued to Naruto and Sakura.

"Itachi and his partner went upstairs to see Hokage-sama. They've been gone for quite a while."

Hinata followed his gaze to Naruto and Sakura. Trying to stay as calm as possible, Hinata explained what had happened between Ino and Sakura. Sasuke seemed worried when Hinata mentioned Sakura's behavior but he didn't say anything. He started to get to his feet. Hinata helped him up.

"Do you feel okay?" Hinata asked him.

He seemed dizzy when he was on his feet but a quick shake of the head and he seemed coordinated again. He cast a frosty glance over his fellow shinobi.

"Why hasn't anyone done anything to fight back?"

"Akatsuki slipped some sort of depressant into all the drinks. No one's jutsu works. The only one who didn't have anything to drink was Neji but they already beat him."

"Where is Neji?"

"I don't know. They dragged him and Lee off somewhere."

Sasuke nodded, thoughtfully, his ebony eyes always sweeping over the crowd.

"Sasuke, what are you planning?" Hinata asked warily.

"I'm planning on risking my life for my village, like a ninja is supposed to do."

He gave her a determined look, daring her to convince him otherwise. Hinata wasn't sure how to feel about his decision. She had never been the bravest kuinoichi in the village but that didn't mean she wouldn't do what it took to defend it. She was worried about Sasuke though. She didn't know what he'd gone through in that illusion and she didn't know how it was affecting his mind. On the outside, his decision seemed clear enough. She nodded, confidently, to show she supported him. When he was reassured that she would support him he turned to where Ino was.

"Ino," he called, loud enough so she could hear him but quiet enough so Deidara nor Sasori couldn't.

Ino looked up with a start but a smile instantly lightened up her face.

"Sasuke-kun! You're all--"

"Shhhh!"

Ino instantly shut up. Sasuke looked to Deidara and Sasori. They were still laying on the bird, staring at the ceiling, bored out of their minds. Sasuke turned back to Ino.

"Ino. I need a favor," he said quietly.

"Anything for you Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

He smirked and Hinata was afraid of what he had planned.

"Ino. Can you dance?"

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Sakura pulled away and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I know. And its okay."

"No. Its not okay. I ruined things for you and Hinata."

"Things are getting better between me and Hinata."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. Once this hostage crisis is over. I'm sure things are going to go back to normal."

Sakura managed a small smile.

"Things are going to get better between you and Sasuke too!" he added, trying to reinforce that smile. "For a little while, I've had a feeling he really does like you."

A light pink blush painted Sakura's cheeks as she thought back to when Sasuke kissed her. Naruto noticed and smiled. It was nice to see a bit of the old Sakura peeking out.

"Come on. Let's go check on him. Hinata's been trying to bring him out of it."

Sakura nodded and they started back but froze in shock when they saw the scene before them.

"Woooo! What are we all standing around for? Let's not let a little hostage crisis stop us from partying!"

Ino was standing on a table, a cocktail in her hand. Everyone was staring at her, including Deidara and Sasori.

"Turn up the music!" Ino whooped.

"Should we be doing something un?" Deidara asked Sasori as someone turned the music on.

"Probably," Sasori sighed.

With a silent command, Deidara's bird seemed to roll over to the table.

"Hey! You! Girl! Get down from there!" Sasori demanded.

"Awww! Come on! We're not doing anything wrong or anything!" Ino whined, gulping down a shot of her cocktail.

"You're being held hostage. You're not supposed to be partying," Sasori argued.

"Awwww! Pleeeease?" she protested, kneeling down so she was eye level with Sasori. "I am waaaay to drunk and I REALLY feel like dancing."

Sasori was about to argue again but Deidara nudged him in the ribs with his elbow. Sasori glared at him for interrupting.

"What?" he hissed.

"Let the girl dance un," Deidara whispered. "We could use some entertainment un."

Sasori sighed but didn't disagree.

"Fine. Start stripping," he told Ino.

"Yay!" Ino squealed and got back to her feet.

"What the hell is she doing?" Sakura asked no one in particular.

Naruto and Sakura stared in shocked silence as Ino started dancing. They were even more horrified when a few more girls joined Ino on the table. They all danced, earning some excited cheers from the crowd beneath them. Deidara seemed the most excited. He applauded and praised from his seat on his bird. Sakura and Naruto were beyond confused. They both jumped when they felt hands on their shoulders. They whirled around and found Sasuke and Hinata there.

"Sasuke! You're okay!"

Sakura caught him in a vice grip embrace. Still keeping an eye on the two members of Akatsuki, Sasuke returned her embrace.

"I was worried about you," she murmured.

"I'm sorry I scared you but, I'm fine now. I promise."

Naruto and Hinata turned to one another. Naruto smiled.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked with a smile back.

"You brought him out of an extremely advanced genjutsu without any chakra flow to help you. That's incredible."

She blushed under her praise as usual.

"It was nothing."

"You're so modest," Naruto laughed. "One of the many things I've always loved about you."

They smiled at one another and hugged.

"As much as I love how we're all getting along again, we've got a crisis on our hands," Sasuke said, pulling away from Sakura.

"Do you have a plan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Of course I have a plan, Dobe," Sasuke snapped back.

Naruto glared at Sasuke but Sakura and Hinata had to stifle laughs at the familiarity of it all.

"Did anyone see where they took Neji?" Sasuke asked, scanning the crowd of revived partiers.

"What do we need Neji for?" Naruto asked.

"We need his eyes since Hinata's don't work. We have to figure out where Itachi and Kisame are. They're obviously the head of this operation."

Sakura was concerned when Sasuke became so intent on finding Itachi. Though his reasoning sounded logical, she was still unsure of how Itachi's reappearance had affected Sasuke. She couldn't see into his head. She had no way of knowing if he was thinking clearly or not. She didn't question him though. She instead scanned the ballroom, like the rest of them, in search of Neji.

"There!" Hinata exclaimed after a while, pointing towards a corner.

Sure enough, there was Neji and Lee, tied together. The four snuck over to them, which wasn't difficult since Sasori and Deidara were intent upon the kuinoichis' exotic dancing. Sasuke, honestly, didn't think that distraction was going to work at first. He learned never to underestimate the perverseness of the Akatsuki. Neji and Lee were unconscious when they untied them. Neji was much easier to wake up than Lee. All it took was a few shakes before he was blinking into consciousness. They quickly re-explained the situation to him.

"Damn it! I can't believe I let them beat me!" he growled.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," Hinata reassured. "We have a new plan and I know you can pull through this time!"

"Ummm…Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned to Sakura who was still attempting to wake up Lee.

"I don't think he's waking up any time soon."

"That's not a problem," he sighed. "He wouldn't be much good to us in the state he's in now anyway."

"Soooo…what? Do I just leave him here?"

"Sure. He'll be fine," Sasuke said, shrugging, and turning back to Neji. "Neji, does your Byakugan still work?"

Neji blinked a few times before focusing his chakra and reactivating his Byakugan.

"Yes. It works fine," he answered.

"Can you find the other two Akatsuki members that infiltrated the mansion?"

Neji's eyes searched the ceiling. He looked through the concrete and to the second floor. When he found noting there, he broke through to the third floor and to the Hokage's office. There, he found Tsunade handing an object over to Itachi. Kisame was standing guard outside in the hallway. He relayed this information to Sasuke.

"Can you identify what she's handing over?"

"I can't tell for sure but, it looks like a scroll."

"A scroll? Why would they go through all this trouble just to get a scroll?" Hinata asked incredulously.

"It must contain some valuable information about the village or something pivotal about our best kept secret," Sakura said.

They all looked to Naruto. He glanced between them all.

"What? Why is it always my fault?!"

"Its not that its your fault Naruto-kun. Its just…" Hinata started.

"You _are _Konoha's--"

"--worst-kept secret," Sasuke cut Sakura off. "The Third Hokage's plan to keep you being the Kyuubi secret obviously failed…miserably."

They all nodded in agreement. Naruto sighed.

"Its always got to be about me doesn't it?" he mumbled.

"Neji. What's happening up there now?" Sasuke asked.

"They just knocked out Tsunade and they're coming down."

"Where the hell is Shizune?" Sakura asked. "Shouldn't she be with Hokage-sama?"

"She must be on a mission," Hinata stated.

"What's the plan Teme?"

They all looked to Sasuke expectantly.

"Okay. Here's the plan."

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," Kisame said as he and Itachi headed back to the ballroom where they'd left Sasori and Deidara.

Itachi had the scroll describing the construction of the seal that was keeping the Kyuubi locked away. His powers of persuasion had been to much for Tsunade. She wasn't impervious to everything, especially not to the Sharingan's abilities. As they neared the first floor, they heard the music playing and the people shouting.

"Oh boy. What have those two gotten into?" Kisame sighed.

The two partners re-entered the ballroom and were greeted with an irritating scene. The Konoha villagers were destroying the place. Food was being thrown, drinks were being poured, chairs were being smashed, and tables were being flipped. It was chaos. And the most irritating thing of all was, that Sasori and Deidara were swinging from the chandelier, drinks in hand, with some half naked girls. Everyone was completely and utterly drunk out of their minds.

"What the _hell_?" Kisame asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, two girls appeared before them. One, Itachi recognized as Sasuke's "girlfriend." The other he could recognize as the Hyuga heiress by her silver eyes. The two had cocktails in hand and appeared equally as drunk as everyone else.

"Where have you two been?" the pink-haired girl scolded.

"You've been missing out on all the fun!" the Hyuga said.

Kisame glanced at Itachi for guidance. This was no going according to plan…at all.

"Come on! Join the party! Have a drink!" the pink-haired girl said, coming closer to Itachi.

Though the entire mansion reeked of alcohol, Itachi's keen senses could pick up no scent on the breath of either of the girls. They weren't drunk. It was all an act.

"Kisame…"

Before Itachi could warn his partner, the Hyuga boy from before jumped on his back. The girl tackled him from the front and he was brought down. Itachi caught the girl's ankle when she tried to land a kick to his skull. He tossed her away just as easily as before. He realized to late that she was just the distraction. Soon after he had discarded her, he recognized the swirling, ruby gaze of his little brother. He smirked and jumped away from his kunai.

"How do you plan on finding the advantage to this battle Sasuke?" he taunted. "We're both going to see each other coming. You can't use your jutsu. What can you possibly hope to do little brother?"

"Plenty."

Itachi heard the darkness in his brother's voice and noticed the black marks on the left half of his face. He recognized Orochimaru's favorite creation known as the Curse Mark. Even under Itachi's advanced Sharingan, Sasuke's hand signs were lightning fast. He heard the familiar chirping sound of the Chidori before the erratic chakra burst into Sasuke's palm. Sasuke lunged and Itachi waited. The older brother jumped when Sasuke was a few feet away. His younger brother crashed into the wall with a colossal plume of dust and rock. Itachi was actually shocked when he met a few Naruto clones midair. They dived towards him but he easily fought them off. He was jostled a little bit when one mass of clones charged him as a group. He still managed to get out unscarred. He noticed the onslaught of clones stopped after the group attack. He didn't get a chance to dwell on it however because Sasuke was coming for him again. A few Naruto clones propelled him into the air, a full flaring Chidori pre-prepared. Itachi whirled away and landed on the chandelier. Sasuke went through the roof when he missed him. Chunks of ceiling fell to the floor below and a huge hole was left behind.

"Hey un! Itachi-baka un! You finally showed up un!"

Itachi hadn't realized he'd landed on the chandelier harboring his drunken comrades and their stripper friends. He glared the infamous Uchiha death glare at Deidara.

"Oh don't be like that un. Lighten up un."

"These villages reeeeally know how to party," Sasori said, gripping the chain of the chandelier that attached it to the ceiling and hung off of it. "Why the hell did you leave when its so much fun here?"

"Because Itachi-baka's not the partying type un," Deidara said to the girls.

"Not a partier!?" a blond kuinoichi exclaimed. "Well we can fix that! Right girls?"

They all agreed and started giggling and whooping. Feeling himself going on the verge of insanity, Itachi kicked both Deidara and Sasori off the chandelier and down onto the back of the bird. The girls whined and waved goodbye to the two. Itachi was about jump down after them but was stopped by Sasuke's voice. He was swinging on the chandelier beside his. The girls cheered and swooned at his arrival.

"Where are you going you coward?" Sasuke spat.

"I got what I came for Sasuke. You're not ready to kill me anyway."

Itachi jumped down onto the clay bird beside Sasori and Deidara just as Sasuke leapt onto the chandelier. With a few short commands, Itachi seized control over the bird. He quickly directed the bird towards where Kisame was desperately trying to fend off the Hyugas' swift taijutsu. As the bird approached, the Hyugas ducked away. Itachi grabbed Kisame by the collar of his cloak and dragged him onto the back of the bird.

"Up," Itachi commanded the bird and it began to beat is wings.

"We're retreating?" Kisame asked incredulously.

"At least we got the scroll. Leader will have to settle for that."

The bird flew through the hole in the ceiling it had left when it entered and Akatsuki retreated.

**.:LoSt LoVe:.**

Before Sasuke rushed to follow the Akatsuki, he was tackled to the floor by Sakura and Hinata.

"Get off of me! He's getting away!" he roared.

"No Sasuke! Its over! The plan worked!" Sakura said, continuing to hold him down, despite his struggling.

"Its not over until that worthless bastard goes to hell!" "This wasn't about Itachi and you know it Sasuke!" Hinata argued.

"Sakura! Hinata! Its not working! Let me do it!" Naruto called, pulling the girls off of Sasuke. "He said to do whatever it took."

"No Naruto!"

"Don't hurt him!"

There was a thump on the back of Sasuke's head and everything went black.

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait guys. As you can see it was a long chapter. Sorry if it didn't meet up to your expectations. I didn't like how it turned out either. But, I gave it my best shot. Please review regardless! Thank you!**


	9. Aftermath

**Chapter IX. "Aftermath"

* * *

**

"_So what's the plan?" Naruto asked his friend as they all sat huddled together._

_The Uchiha had a thoughtful expression on his pale face, his dark eyes flitting about the ballroom._

"_We're going to need weapons," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else._

"_I can help you there," Neji proclaimed. "If you can distract those two--" he nodded to Deidara and Sasori "--then I can sneak downstairs to the weapon's vault."_

_They all glanced at the two Akatsuki members, Deidara more than enjoying the dancing kuinoichi._

"_I think they're distracted enough," Naruto confirmed, but Sasuke still seemed skeptical, eyes mainly focused on Sasori who's pale gaze shifted from the dancing girls to the shinobi surrounding him often._

"_Okay. That'll be the easy part," Sasuke murmured._

"_Then what?" Sakura asked._

_Sasuke smirked at her and Naruto._

"_That's when you two come in. With Ino's help, I want you to start a party in here. Get as many people as you can to dance and drink."_

_His teammates and the adjoining Hyugas looked equally confused until he clarified his plan further._

"_When Itachi and his partner come back, this place needs to be in chaos. Get people to throw things and break things and just go crazy. They won't expect that and we can, hopefully, catch them off guard."_

"_What about those two?" Sakura asked in reference to Sasori and Deidara._

"_For some reason, I don't think they'll be hard to get drunk," Naruto said with a little laugh. "Especially the blond."_

"_And knowing Ino…" Neji trailed off._

"_So once they're distracted, what do we do?" Hinata asked Sasuke._

"_That's where you two come in," Sasuke replied, nodding to both her and Sakura. "When Itachi and Kisame come down, act as drunk as you possibly can and confront them. Say anything you can to convince them you're just as crazy as everyone else. If they suspect you or if they let their guard down, then attack. Neji, you take Kisame from behind and I'll take Itachi."_

"_Objection!" Naruto interjected with a childish pout that made Hinata smile. "What the hell am I supposed to do? Don't leave me out Teme!"_

_ "Why don't you let me finish Dobe?" Sasuke growled through his teeth, eyes flashing._

_Naruto glared at him but waited for him to continue, regardless. This lifted Sakura's spirits. It was so _normal _to hear them bickering over a life and death situation._

"_Once I get Itachi airborne, it'll be you're job to retrieve this scroll he has. Do you realize how important that job is?"_

_Naruto blinked and nodded very slowly, suddenly growing serious._

"_You'll have to be quick," Sasuke explained. "You can probably be able to perform your jutsu with the chakra you have from the Kyuubi. Try using your clones to overwhelm him and when you do get the scroll, make sure he doesn't notice. He has to think he'll still have it, otherwise things will get a lot more complicated." _

_"Why can't I just blast him with my Rasengan?" Naruto protested._

"_Because we want to be as discreet as possible," the irritated Uchiha hissed. "It'll make things all the more easier. Just trust me please?"_

_ Both Sakura and Hinata were sure Naruto would argue but, shockingly, he only nodded._

"_What happens when we get the scroll?" Naruto queried._

"_Then all we have to do is chase them away and make them retreat," Sasuke concluded, glancing at Deidara and Sasori._

_They were _both _intent on their dancers._

"_Is everyone clear on what to do?" he asked, looking at each face around him in turn._

_They all nodded, identical, determined gleams in each of their eyes._

"_Neji. Sneak down to the weapons vault. We'll start causing chaos."_

_The elder Hyuga nodded and abandoned the group to vanish into the chagrined crowd. The other three turned to stand but Sasuke grabbed Sakura's wrist to stop them, catching all of their attention._

"_What is it?" Sakura asked, worry in her voice and eyes at the pained look in his onyx gaze._

"…_There's only one way I can perform jutsu now…and that's to release the Curse Mark."_

"_No Sasuke! You can't!"_

_Sakura immediately knelt down beside him, squeezing his hand between hers, desperation and pleading replacing the worry in her eyes._

"_It has to be done," Sasuke murmured, fixing her jade gaze with his own. "I should be able to control it enough to carry out the plan…but if we do succeed and it seems like I'm going to go after them…I'm trusting you three to stop me at whatever the cost."_

_His eyes flitted to Naruto who's cerulean eyes had grown hard. His jaw was clenched, but he nodded very stiffly. Sasuke turned back to Sakura. She avoided his gaze, her cotton candy strands of hair hiding her face._

"_How did you stop me in the Forest Of Death?" he asked, softly._

_She glanced up at him, recalling the terrifying moment. She didn't' answer him but nodded._

"_I'm counting on you," he murmured to her specifically before repeating it to all three of them._

_Understanding was in Hinata's eyes as the two rose to their feet._

"_Let's do this," Naruto breathed and the plan commenced.

* * *

_

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

Sasuke had grown very accustomed to the sights and sounds of Konoha General Hospital. He was barely conscious and he could already hear his best friend, the heart monitor. Next, it was hello to those agonizing fluorescent lights. He raised his arm to his forehead, half expecting an IV to be attached to him. Thank God there wasn't. He hated those things.

"Sasuke?"

A smile alighted his face as he recognized the tentative voice beside him. He didn't open his eyes, placing his arm over them to shield them from those damn lights.

"How long?" he sighed, already impatient to get out of the hospital.

"Only a day," she chuckled. "They want to keep you and Naruto for two more to check the seals."

He groaned.

"Oh, don't be a baby. You've suffered worse," she scolded, removing his arm from his eyes.

He, gladly, met her jade eyes, half to avoid burning his own eyes on the white lights and half to be able to recognize her face. She was herself again. She was back to normal. Her gaze was bright and her smile was genuine. It was a relief to see her so innocent and happy again. He noticed she was no longer dressed like a hooker. He recognized her red dress immediately, a huge contrast to the one she'd worn at the party…

"Did it work?" he asked, suddenly, propping himself up on his elbows.

"The plan? Yes, it worked. Don't worry. They left empty-handed," she said and he was surprised that she wasn't fussing for him to lay back down.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yes. Naruto's next door. He's been awake all day, trying to break out," she giggled. "If it weren't for Hinata, I bet he'd be halfway to Suna by now."

"That sounds like him," Sasuke chuckled, half-heartedly.

Sakura noticed the change in his voice, but restrained herself from reaching out to touch his arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked, nibbling her lower lip.

He nodded against the stark white pillows, yet his deep eyes were thoughtful and stared ahead at the ceiling. She knew she had no right to pester him, but Sakura could not contain her next question.

"What are you thinking?" she burst.

She instantly regret asking when his eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. He did not look at her and she expected he was still angry with her. She didn't blame him. She had hurt a lot of people that past week. Her heart jumped when he answered her.

"I was thinking I should have handled things with Naruto better," the Uchiha murmured.

"W-What do you mean?"

He pursed his pale lips in hesitation, contemplating if he wanted to share with her his thoughts.

"You don't--"

"I shouldn't have spent so much time with Hinata," he interrupted her. "I don't regret helping her out the night of the storm--" that memory made her flinch "--but I should have explained the situation better to Naruto. And that day at the Training Field…"

"You didn't do anything wrong!"

His cool gaze shifted to her, curiosity evident in the obsidian depths. She looked away, turning her sights onto her hands, fumbling around in her lap.

"I…We…We all overreacted that day. You and Hinata…you were only…"

She could not find the right words. She still didn't know what she and her squad mates had walked in on.

"I was stupid," Sasuke began, suddenly. "I was angry and went to the Training Field. I just started destroying everything around me. I was about to collapse when Hinata showed up. She gave me some strength and water. She noticed me shoulder was bothering me and wanted to make sure the muscle wasn't ripped or torn. I told her it was a bad idea, but she insisted that I take my shirt off. When she finished healing my shoulder we were just goofing off and playing keep away with my shirt. But I know what it must have looked like."

Sakura was quiet, her blossom-colored hair falling around her face as she looked down at her hands, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. She knew she was being ridiculous, possessive, and jealous. The part of her that was madly and unconditionally in love with Sasuke kept wailing that Hinata had taken advantage of her status as a medical nin to catch Sasuke without a shirt. But, the part of her that was human and logical knew that it wasn't in Hinata's character to do such a thing. She was not a lecherous and obsessed fan girl. Everyone knew her gaze solely belonged to Naruto. What she had seen between Hinata and Sasuke on the Training Field had been purely friendly.

"I've told you my side. Now tell me yours."

Sakura lifted her tired jade gaze back to his perfect face. His features were so soft and full of forgiveness she didn't deserve. His eyes were filled with patience and well hidden sorrow that only she could pick up on through their bond. Her mouth went dry. There was no alternate to her story. What Hinata had seen that rainy night had been no trick of the light. She had kissed Naruto, plain and simple. She had known it was wrong and did so regardless.

"I…" she croaked, coughing once in an attempt to regain her voice. "I kissed Naruto. It was exactly what it looked like. I have no excuse."

Her hoarse voice broke towards the end as she recalled what she had done. She could not remember the night clearly. All she could remember was that she had been on the verge of insanity. She had been revolted with herself and had sought comfort in the pouring rain. She remembered her thoughts being filled with images of Sasuke and she remembered longing to see him. And then Naruto was there and she fell over the edge.

She had messed everything up. She'd been selfish and deceitful and she didn't even know why. She'd been possessed by greed and lust and now she feared things would never be the same. She hadn't realized she'd been crying until a cool touch grazed her cheek. She was frozen in her seat, mossy eyes watching the man beside her as he gently stroked the tears away with his thumb.

"It wasn't your fault," he murmured, dark gaze intent upon the droplets he'd caught upon his fingers.

"H-How could you say that!" she burst into hysteria. "I acted like a whore! I ruined Naruto's and Hinata's relationship and I hurt you! I hit Ino, I-I treated Sensei like he was nothing, I disgraced Konoha, I--"

She whimpered beneath the pale fingers that found her lips, silencing her rambling words. He didn't say anything for a moment, instead leaning his forehead against hers. She knew she had to pull away. She knew she didn't deserve him. Before she could pull away from him, the fingers that had recently been upon her lips wound their way into her pink hair, holding her head to his. Raven black mixed with corral pink as he held her before him, his warm breath washing comfort over her face.

"If there's anyone to blame for what happened, its me," he breathed, sending tingles down her spine. "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did: like you were nothing. I should have treated you better and paid more attention to you. I did this to you. My…lack of recognition turned you into someone you're not, just to gain my approval. I'm sorry that I didn't treat you as an equal. Don't blame yourself for the way you were acting. Blame me."

"But…Sasuke…"

He silenced her again by pressing closer, his lips just barely brushing her own. She fought down her want to leap forward and kiss him. She fought down the lusting feelings he was making her experience. She remembered the first time he kissed her a few days prior. Her entire being had lit on fire as his hands traveled along her body and his lips had been intent on devouring hers. He still had the same effect on her. His presence drove her crazy and his next words placed her on cloud nine.

"I love you Sakura. I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."

She found herself smiling. She was filled to the brim with bliss at the honesty she heard in his voice. All her previous sins washed away in his tranquil words and his heart-stopping kiss.

* * *

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

"Ugh! I feel like an animal in a zoo! I hate this place!"

"Oh stop being such a baby."

Hinata slapped him on the arm, scoldingly, and the blond pouted in return. The Hyuga rolled her eyes but a smile was upon her pink lips at his childishness. It was good to see him back to himself through. He didn't seem to be mad at her anymore for being with Sasuke.

"So I take it you're feeling better?" she asked, just to confirm the obvious.

"I feel perfectly fine! Why do I have to stay here for two more days?" he complained.

"If you think of the positives it won't be so bad," she tried, even though she knew that never worked on him.

"There's nothing positive about this place!"

She said it at the same time as him, quoting his constantly repetitive statement. Their was a twinkle in his diamond-like eyes as he smiled at her. She attempted to smile back but it barely reached her pale eyes.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, squeezing her soft hand gently with his own.

"Oh! Its…nothing…"

"Hinata, if this about the Sasuke thing, you know I forgive you right?"

She shrugged, her gaze not meeting his. He sighed and placed his fingers under her chin, pulling her face up to look at his.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Hinata. There's nothing you need to feel guilty about. Unless…there's something you're not telling me…"

His voice grew, suddenly, dark and it was oh so difficult to contain his laughter at her reaction. Her eyes widened in shock and panic and a scarlet blush bathed her snowy face. She shook her head, vigorously, and waved her hands in front of her.

"Nonononononononono!! No! Nothing happened like that! Oh God--"

Naruto burst into hysterical laughter and he fell back at the hospital bed, holding his stomach. Hinata slumped back in her bedside chair, the blush of embarrassment still veiling her features.

"That's not funny," she mumbled.

"Of course it was!" the blond burst, wiping tears out of his eyes. "You're so adorable! I know you'd never do something like that!"

She laughed in addition but it was trembling and unsure. Naruto rolled his eyes and took both of her hands in his, giving her a stern stare.

"I trust you Hinata. You've never done anything that would make me think otherwise. I, on the other hand, have to work on that."

"W-What are you talking about? I trust you!"

"How could you after I--"

He gulped down and squeezed his eyes shut in shame. He dare not voice it. He felt guilty enough thinking about it.

"Naruto…I don't blame you for what happened…"

"Well, you should! I am entirely to blame for what happened."

"…Not entirely…"

"I could have stopped it, though! I'm the guy! I'm supposed to be able to resist…"

He trailed off, furious at himself as the night's events grew more and more vivid the more he spoke of it. Hinata drew her hands from Naruto's, trading places with him as his rough hands now rested within her grasp.

"We both made mistakes," she started, softly. "You with Sakura and me with Sasuke."

"But nothing happened with you and Sasuke. You didn't kiss him or anything."

"No, but…"

"But nothing. There's nothing you could say that'll make _me _blame _you _for everything."

The heiress sighed in defeat. If there was anything to hate about Uzumaki Naruto, it was his stubbornness. She didn't want all the blame to be placed on Naruto. She could have done plenty of things different to prevent what occurred.

"So…are we still…together?" she stammered, fingers fumbling around his tan hands in nervousness.

He touched her hands, his rough thumbs stroking her white knuckles.

"…I want to be if you want to be. I still love you."

She smiled her heartwarming smile at him, lacing her fingers with his.

"I still love you too you big knucklehead."

He chuckled and his laughing eyes bore into her smiling ones before each leaned in for a chaste, reunion kiss. Hinata pulled away from his slightly chapped lips with a mischievous smile.

"So, Naruto…what are you going to tell my father."

Pure, unbridled terror replaced the serene atmosphere.

"What!? What do you mean by that!? I don't want to talk to Hiashi! If I do, I'll end up sleeping with the fishes or I'll find a horse head in my bed!"

Hinata's wind chime laughter struck out beneath his frantic wailing. Finally, things were back to normal.

* * *

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

Two days later, Naruto and Sasuke were legitimately released from the hospital without any attempt at escape. That was a first for each of them. Sasuke sighed in sweet relief when he stepped out of the hospital confines, hand locked with Sakura's.

"You're such a drama queen," Sakura giggled and rolled her eyes.

"I have a phobia of hospitals. Not my fault," he stated in his defense.

"Oh please. Phobia of hospitals? That doesn't even exist!"

"Its does so exist! We'll go to the library and I will show you the big book of phobias. And yes. It does exist."

"Yeah, yeah. If you say so."

"I can't wait to prove you wrong."

"Oh really? Then I'll look forward to it."

He smiled at her, ebony eyes half hidden beneath his lids.

"We should go out," he said, suddenly.

"Go out? What do you mean by that?" she asked, blinking curiously.

"I mean we should go out…like on a date. Couples do that right?"

She stared at him for a brief moment before bursting into a round of soft giggles.

"Sasuke-kun! You've never had a girlfriend before!"

It was not a question.. After stalking him for so many years, she knew full well if he had ever had a girlfriend before. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he, pointedly, looked away from her.

"There's nothing funny about that," the Uchiha mumbled in embarrassment.

"After having so many fan girls, I will never be able to wrap my mind around the fact that you've never gone on a date!"

"That's because I never found the right girl to spend that time with," he murmured, fixing her in his intense gaze, making her heart do somersaults. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"Of course I want to go out with you!" she burst. "Why on Earth would you think I wouldn't?"

He shrugged, his long fingers twiddling with hers, absently.

"I haven't exactly been the nicest to you in recent years…"

"Things have changed since then. I mean…we've kissed."

He chuckled, a dark, enticing sound.

"When are you free?"

"How about tomorrow night?" she offered, shyly.

"Dinner at seven?"

She nodded, excitedly.

"Then it's a date," he said, lifting her hand to his lips.

No sooner had they made their plans, when Naruto burst from the glass hospital doors, collapsing onto the lawn and kissing it repeatedly.

"Sweet freedom! I missed you Earth!"

"Naru-kun quit making out with the ground. I'm getting jealous," Hinata said as she trailed after him.

"The ground didn't force me to stay in that stark white hell for three days!" he retorted.

"You're such a baby," the Hyuga sighed, shaking her head.

"Is the dobe giving you problems? I could always break his knee caps for you," Sasuke offered, bringing Sakura over to the pair with him.

"I'd like to see you try Teme," Naruto retorted, voice muffled by the grass.

"I can handle this knucklehead Sasuke," Hinata reassured. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Anytime. It would be my pleasure. Trust me."

Naruto got to his feet, patting strands of grass off his orange track suit. He glared at Sasuke, placing an arm around Hinata's shoulders. Sasuke glared back, squeezing Sakura's hand tighter. The two kuinoichi glanced between the boys, unable to tell if their glaring contest was of the common variety or not. Either way, Sakura still pulled away from Sasuke to face the three of them. Sasuke stared at her, disappointed at her sudden distance from him.

"I wanted to apologize to the three of you," she began. "Its because of me that there's so much distrust between the four of us."

"Sakura--" Sasuke interrupted, but she went on as if he'd never spoken.

"My actions were completely out of line and inappropriate. I caused us all to hate each other because I was stupid and selfish. I don't deserve any of your forgiveness. Especially not yours Hinata."

She turned to the stunned Hyuga.

"I knew how much you loved Naruto and I still kissed him and flirted with him. You must hate me. You must all hate me!"

"Sakura. Stop."

Sasuke went over to the pink-haired girl, placing his hands on her shoulders and gazing into her teary eyes.

"I told you, its not your fault. And I don't hate you."

"No matter what you say, Sasuke, everything I did is my responsibility!"

Sasuke sighed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to his chest where she resisted the urge to explode into sobs. A silence fell over the four shinobi. Naruto was the first to break it, running a hand through his golden spikes.

"Sasuke's right, Sakura. You're not entirely at fault. After I started dating Hinata, I wasn't exactly the nicest to you. I treated you like trash."

"You had every right to!" Sakura said, stepping towards him and away from Sasuke. "I was awful to you! I called you names, beat you up…"

"Yeah, but still. I acted immature. You're my teammate and I should have been able to forgive you like I want to now. We all screwed up. We can't pin the blame on one person."

"I'm sorry Naruto," she sniffled.

"I'm sorry too. Friends?"

She nodded and managed a smile through her tears as did he. Very hesitantly, he reached an arm around her shoulders in a brief, friendly hug that Sasuke looked the other way from, finding a lonely dandelion positively intriguing.

"Thank you Naruto," she whispered. "I don't deserve it."

"Nonsense!" he said, pulling away. "If anything, I think we've all become a lot closer as a result from this. Right?"

He placed an arm back around Hinata's shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze. She gave him a smile but its intensity died a little bit when she turned to Sakura.

"Look on the bright side!" she managed to say. "If it weren't for what happened, you two may have never gotten together!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed but she continued to smile, knowingly, at him.

"Don't even try to deny it Sasuke," she continued. "Everyone knew you liked her back. You were really bad at hiding it."

"Shut up," he mumbled, raven bangs falling to hide the pinkness spreading across his cheeks.

Both girls laughed at his reaction, Sakura taking his hand once she'd wiped away her tears. Naruto smiled, smugly, at his teammate.

"Now that that's settled, how about I treat us all to some Ichiraku Ramen?" the blond beamed at the thought of his favorite restaurant.

"Not that you can afford it, but you do owe me for almost killing me," Sasuke scoffed.

"Its not my fault I'm so much stronger that you," Naruto retorted.

"You are _not _better than me."

"Then how come I kicked your sorry butt?"

"One, because you caught me off guard and two, because _I _didn't want to be responsible for your death."

"That's bull! You were to scared to fight back!"

"Scared of you? That's like being afraid of a puppy."

And, without even saying the words, they had forgiven each other.

* * *

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

Hinata sighed in disappointment as she stared at the dress on her bed. The battle with Akatsuki had left it tattered and torn. It was upsetting since it had been Naruto's favorite.

"Well that sucks."

Hinata turned to the voice from the doorway and smiled at her friend.

"Hi Kiba."

"Long time no see," he said, Akamaru barking in agreement from atop his head. "Mind if we come in?"

"Of course not! Please, come in."

He did so, giving her a hello hug, before taking a seat in the armchair in the corner.

"You think you can save it?" he asked, nodding to the white dress.

"I'm going to try, but I doubt its possible," she sighed again.

"I'm sorry Hinata. I know how much you liked it…"

"Its just a dress," she stated quickly. "Its really no big deal."

"I'm sorry Hinata."

She turned to him when she realized he was no longer apologizing for the dress. He was gazing at her, sadly but intently.

"Are you okay Kiba?"

"I feel awful Hinata. I did nothing to protect you when Akatsuki attacked."

"Kiba, I can take care of myself," she tried to laugh for the sake of making him feel better.

"I-I know that!" he said, blushing furiously. "Its just that…I know you, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Neji all made that plan to chase Akatsuki away and get that scroll back…"

"It was really just Sasuke ordering us around--"

"But I should have been able to do something! I was useless!"

Akamaru whimpered at his outburst, causing a short silence between the two teammates. Hinata went over to Kiba, sitting on the arm of the chair and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up Kiba. Everyone played a part in getting rid of Akatsuki. You helped with the rioting didn't you?"

"Yeah, but--"

"Besides! There wasn't much anyone could do anyway. No one could perform jutsu remember?"

"But still! Shinobi should be able to perform even in the worst of situations!"

"And you did! Everyone did!"

"But…Naruto and Sasuke--"

"Naruto and Sasuke are different. You know that. And Neji doesn't drink."

"I should have known though…"

"You had no way of knowing. No one did. Now will you quit beating yourself up?"

She pushed on his arm, lightly, making him laugh.

"Okay, okay. Fine, fine. But I'm still going to train even harder now."

"There's nothing I can do to stop you there," she sighed, shaking her head at his hard-headedness.

"So are you and Naruto back together?"

She smiled at the words and the joy they brought to her.

"Yeah. We sorted everything out."

"That's great! I'm really happy for you!"

But, she could tell he didn't mean what he said. She didn't point it out though.

"Honey! I'm home!"

Both squad mates recognized Naruto's voice before he even entered the room.

"I come bearing gifts!" he exclaimed when he entered the room, a long, white box wrapped in a red bow in his hands.

Hinata rolled her eyes and got up to greet him, giving him a hug and a kiss hello.

"That gift better not be for me," she scolded, but he continued to grin, goofily, at her.

"Of course its for you! I don't buy gifts for anyone else."

"That's because you don't have the money to afford them," Kiba snorted, rising from the armchair as Akamaru yapped in agreement.

Naruto glared at him, teeth grinding in irritation.

"Kiba."

"Naruto."

"What are _you _doing here?"

"Making sure my friend's okay. You better take good care of her, you idiot."

"I intend to, Dogbreath."

"Who are you calling Dogbreath you yellow-headed freak!?"

"Who else would I be calling it, Deaf-ears!?"

"Are you trying to start something here because if so its working!? You're really pissing me off!"

"Bring it on! I'll kick your ass any day!"

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the Training Field! Prepare to get the crap beaten out of you!"

"I look forward to watching you run away screaming!"

"Don't be late!"

"Meet you there!"

They each got out of each other's faces with identical "huffs," Kiba exiting the room with his head held high.

"You boys," Hinata groaned, running her hand through her inky hair.

"I can't wait to cream that dog-walking loser," Naruto snickered, evil grin in place. "What was he doing here anyway?"

Hinata bit her lower lip, knowing Kiba's true intentions in coming to see her.

"He just wanted to talk. What's that?"

She nodded to the box in his hands, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh! I got you a sort of making up present!" he beamed, practically shoving the large box into her hands.

"Naruto, you didn't have to--"

"Shush! Open it!" he interrupted, giving her a stern look that she could not take seriously.

"Fine, fine," she mumbled under her breath, placing the box on the bed.

She quickly undid the red bow, lifted the white lid, and dug through the red tissue paper within. Her breath hitched when she pulled aside the paper to reveal the gift. It was a white dress, but not just any white dress. It was Naruto's favorite dress, the one that had been ruined by the Akatsuki raid. She lifted it out of the box, laying it beside the original on the bed. The bottom was the same, shimmering silver and the top was made of the same, pearly white material. It was an exact replica of the original. Naruto hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her head.

"Do you like it?" he asked and she could hear the smile in his voice. "It may have caused me to go completely bankrupt, but it was worth it."

"You…spent all your money…on something for me?"

"You bet I did! Nothing's to expensive for my girl!"

She turned in his arms and wound hers around his neck.

"You didn't have to do this."

"Oh yes I did. And the next time I see Akatsuki, I'll kick their butts for destroying my favorite dress."

"I bet they'll head for the hills the second they see you," she giggled.

"You bet they will! By the time I see them again, I'll be ten times stronger than I am now!"

"Mind if I help? I really liked that dress too."

"If they see both of us together to face them, they should just spare themselves the suffering and kill themselves."

She giggled at how serious his voice sounded beneath his goofy smile.

"I love you," she sighed.

"I love you tons more."

She rolled her eyes and stretched up to peck him on the lips. He placed a hand in her silky hair and pressed closer to her. All the while, both were smiling.

* * *

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

"Table for two please."

"Right this way, sir."

"I had no idea there was such a place like this in Konoha," Sakura said, looking around the unfamiliar restaurant in wonder as she followed Sasuke and the host.

The restaurant was small on the outside but she felt like she was in a palace once she stepped inside. Dim chandeliers hung from the mahogany ceiling. The floor was carpeted in red and the tables were clothed in vermilion. Sasuke reached over and took her hand in his, smiling at her warmly.

"There are a lot of different places you'll see if you stay with me," he stated.

They were seated in a secluded booth, away from the rest of the customers. The table was lit by a few candles grouped together near the center. They were given their menus and left alone. Sakura smiled over at him.

"When you said you wanted to take me out to dinner, I was honestly half-expecting Ichiraku Ramen."

"Would you have preferred Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Of course not! This is beautiful! I've never been in a restaurant like this."

"That's just one of the perks of being the last Uchiha's girlfriend."

She giggled at his smug remark and his eyes twinkled in the candlelight.

"I hope you're hungry," he said.

"Starving! I skipped lunch just so I could eat a lot tonight."

This time, it was his turn to laugh that dark, alluring laugh of his. It sent tingles across her skin. He was always so refined and always so regal. She always felt so unworthy when she was around him. Their waitress arrived with a pitcher of water and they each ordered the same thing: spaghetti and meatballs.

"I'd think you'd want something else," Sakura said to him when the waitress left.

He shrugged, casually.

"I wasn't in the mood for anything else."

She gave him a skeptical look and he raised an elegant brow in question.

"You're planning something."

It was not a question. She could read it in his near impassive eyes. He was up to something.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort," he defended, eyes suddenly big and innocent.

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to feign innocence.

"You better not plan on getting me punk'd or something."

"I would never set you up on Punk'd!" he chuckled and she sighed in relief at the honesty resounding in his voice.

'Then what are you planning?"

"Nothing you should be worried about. So what did you do today?"

She snorted at his change of subject, but his flawless smile remained in place as he gazed at her.

"I went to see Hokage-sama today."

"Tsunade? Why would you need to see her? Is something wrong?"

"No, no," she waved off his concern before continuing. "I asked her if she would accept me as her pupil."

That seemed to catch him off guard for a moment, but he said nothing as he stared at her, his invitation for her to continue.

"After everything that happened, especially with Akatsuki, I just wanted to get stronger. When you were suffering from the Tsukiyomi visions, I could do nothing to help you. Hinata had to come save you. I'll still train with you, Naruto, and Sensei, but I think Hokage-sama can teach me the things I want to know better."

There was a short silence between the two and Sakura could not tell what he was thinking until he reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"I'm proud of you Sakura," he murmured, his expression soft and full of affection

She smiled at his words. His opinion gave her more confidence in her future studies with Tsunade. The waitress returned soon after with their meals. It did not take long for Sakura to realize what Sasuke had been planning for their dinner. First, there was the exchanging of meatballs, he rolling his onto her plat when she was running low. Then their was the sharing of past strands, each slurping up a mouthful from the same plate.

"You're trying to recreate 'Lady And The Tramp' scenes," she finally ratted him out.

"Its working isn't it?" he inquired smoothly.

"What are you trying to accomplish?"

"I'm trying to make you fall for me."

"That's silly," she giggled. "I fell for you a long time ago."

"Good. Now I don't have to try so hard."

He leaned forward on the table, as did she, foreheads pressing together for a series of brief, innocent kisses.

"You have garlic breath," she whispered after a few moments.

"Then you won't be offended when I tell you, you have the same."

They both laughed, quietly, pressing closer to kiss once again.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait. I have no excuse. I really didn't know what to do for the last scene. I hope it was okay for the SasuSaku fans. I tried to give each pairing their equal amount of "screen time." Please review. You know the rules for critiques. They are welcome. Thank you.


	10. Epilogue Taking Chances

**Chapter X. "Epilogue ~ Taking Chances"

* * *

**

_Don't know much about your life_

_Don't know much about your world_

_Don't want to be alone tonight on this planet they call Earth

* * *

_

"That one looks like a bowl of miso ramen."

"I think that one looks like a hippo."

"That one looks like a bowl of shrimp ramen."

"You think all of them look like ramen!"

"I can't help that I'm always hungry!"

Hinata sat up form her previous, cloud-watching position in the grass to look at him. He gave her his familiar goofy smile that she rolled her eyes at on reflex.

"I swear, sometimes I think you're an Akimichi more than an Uzumaki."

"I'm really not sure if I should be offended or not."

"You should."

"I'm not."

She glared at him and he continued to smile at her. Despite her best efforts, Hinata could not stop the smile form spreading across her face.

"Come down here you," Naruto chuckled as he reached an arm up and around her shoulders.

Giggling in surrender, Hinata nestled against the jinchuriki's chest in delight. She sighed as his hand ran through her hair.

"I'm glad things are back to normal," the heiress breathed.

"You can say that again. I hope I don't see Akatsuki again for a long time."

"_You _don't want to see them again? You who always wants to go gallivanting after them? You whose always reckless and welcoming the challenge?"

She propped herself upon her elbow and gave him a skeptical look, raising and elicited eyebrow. Naruto pouted and his blue eyes shifted away in guilt.

"I don't gallivant," he mumbled and she laughed at his embarrassment, snuggling back against his chest to watch the clouds.

They were quiet for a few moments, his hand absently running through her hair. Hinata could not help thinking about the Akatsuki - since Naruto brought it up - and his life as a jinchuriki. The Akatsuki raid had really shook her up. They'd come solely for Naruto and the Kyuubi, She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if Akatsuki had succeeded in capturing what they desired.

"N-Naruto?"

"Yeeesss?"

"I…um…never mind…"

"No. Tell me."

Naruto propped up on his elbows and gave her a stern look. She pushed her fingers together in a nervous habit.

"What's bothering you?" the teen asked her quietly, touching her pale cheek.

Hinata sighed, tense shoulders collapsing.

"I just…you don't hat to answer me…"

"Hinata. Ask the question."

"What's it like being a jinchuriki?"

She glanced up at him, silver planes meeting diamond orbs. All the breath seemed to deflate out of him in one, agonizingly, long sigh. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, eyebrows furrowing in contemplation or anger, she couldn't tell.

"Why would you want to ask about something like that?" he asked, softly and rather hoarsely, blond spikes hiding his eyes for a moment.

"Like I said, y-you don't have to answer me.. I was just…curious. After everything that happened…I just feel like, I really don't know much about that side of your life. If Akatsuki comes for you again…I want to know why."

He didn't look at her and she was afraid she had somehow offended him by pushing the subject. His tan fingers toyed with the strands of grass beside his leg. He was never as silent a she was then.

"Being a jinchuriki…is a burden. I always wish I didn't have to bear," he answered after his moment of silence. "People don't realize that the jinchuriki is not the biju, so we get blamed for our demons' misdoings. At first, I was just abused and mistreated and I didn't know why. Then, Akatsuki came into the picture, after I learned what I was, and my life as a jinchuriki turned to living in constant fear of being stolen away."

"You're…afraid? Of Akatsuki?"

"Nonsense!"

Hinata startled in fright at his sudden outburst, his brooding exterior suddenly returning to that of an excited puppy.

"I'm not afraid of anything! Well…except for maybe one thing."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Losing you."

* * *

_You don't know about my past_

_And I don't have a future figured out_

_And maybe this has gone to fast_

_And maybe its not meant to last

* * *

_

"You don't have to worry," Hinata responded with a delighted smile, running her hand over his. "I won't let anything happen to me."

He chuckled, half-heartedly, taking her one hand in both of his.

"There's no doubt in my mind about that," he sighed, emptily.

"You…have your doubts?" she asked, honestly, rather hurt.

"No! I just said there was no doubt -"

"But, you said it like there was."

His blue eyes softened, eyebrows turning down apologetically. He cast his gaze down to her hand within his. Again, he found himself, absently, stroking the soft skin, lips pursed.

"I'm sorry. I know you can take care of yourself. A lot has changed since the academy days," he said, softly, suddenly ashamed of himself.

Hinata sighed, folding her free hand over his.

"I would be the first to admit that I wasn't strong enough to watch out for myself. But, I did change. You helped me to accomplish that."

"Aw. I wouldn't say that," he interrupted, bashfully.

"I would say that," she continued, seriously. "You were my inspiration Naruto. It was because of you that I set such high standards for myself."

"But, why me? I'm nothing special."

"Haven't we been through this, _millions _of times? I'm crazy about you, remember? Always have been, always will be."

"It feels good to have a fan girl," Naruto sighed in joy.

"You mean besides Sasuke's?" she pried, poking him in the arm.

"Yupe! Its good to know Sasuke's not the only one that can catch the eye of a beautiful woman."

"Stop!" Hinata laughed, pushing him in the side, face afire.

"Why are you so against compliments?" Naruto returned with a smile. "It's the truth. You are beautiful."

"Quit it!"

Naruto chuckled at her modesty. It was one of the things he cherished most about her. She was unlike any other girl in that sense. She didn't obsess over making herself look beautiful. I just came to her naturally and she didn't flaunt or brag about it.

"I love you," he murmured, suddenly, squeezing her hand.

"I love you too," she replied, smoothly, her smile filled with sunshine.

That smile suddenly melted into sigh, and not one of bliss. Naruto frowned in concern.

"What's wrong?" he queried.

"Its nothing. I was just…thinking."

"About?"

"You…and my father."

"Oh. Yeah. Him," the blond said, shortly and curtly.

"I know you two don't get along, but I really want you to. I think if you both made an effort, we could make it work."

"Why do you want me in his good graces so badly?" he scoffed.

"Well…if we ever…by chance…possibly…have a f-f-future…t-t-t-together…"

This caught his wandering attention and he fixed her trembling, stuttering form in a shocked stare. A future with Hinata? Without Hiashi glaring down at him? It would be heaven. But, what kind of future was she talking about? Marriage? He wouldn't mind, of course, but for now, he didn't want to dwell on that possibility.

"Hinata…how serious do you want to get?"

"Well…I love you! And I'm convinced I want to be with you for as long as I can if not forever."

Her dedication awed him. Her love dumbfounded him. How did he get so lucky? How did a nobody like him earn such affections from someone as amazing as her?

"Hinata…I…"

He stopped, still stunned by her adoration. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly into the soft breeze.

"…If that's what you want, then I'll do whatever it takes to get along with Hiashi. He's the only thing standing in our way."

She glomped the life out of him then. For a little girl, she sure was back-breaking when she was happy. He did not object, of course, and gladly hugged her back, nestling his face into her midnight hair.

"Thank you Naruto," she murmured against his orange jacket. "I know you can do it."

He smiled at her optimism, hugging her tighter. He reminded himself that that if he could survive against four, S-Ranked, exorcist, demon-hunting, rogue ninja, then he could handle her pompous father. Easy. Anything for her.

* * *

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge? _

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or Hell to pay_

_What do you say?_

_What do you say?

* * *

_

"So, are we going later?"

"If you want to then we will."

"I don't want to go if you don't!"

Sakura squeezed his hand in protest. She didn't want Sasuke to agree to do something solely to please her. Sasuke sighed and looked down to their entwined hands, watching his own fingers sift through hers.

"Honestly, I could do without it," he admitted.

"Then we won't go."

"If you want to go then we are going."

"I don't need to go. Its just an excuse for Hokage-sama to throw another drunken party again," she replied with a shrug. "I don't know what she was thinking after the last one."

Their ever-optimistic Hokage, Tsunade, had arranged yet another event for her "subjects." Quoting from her:

"In honor of everyone's bravery during the Akatsuki raid, I propose to hold a celebration. In two days, a ceremony will take place in Konoha square and every individual responsible for ridding us of Akatsuki will receive a medal of honor."

Sakura knew their Hokage was capable of giving credit where credit was due, but doubted that was her reasoning behind the organization of such an event.

"Don't you want your medal?" Sasuke questioned, glancing up at her, inquisitively.

She blinked in confusion, seeking clarification. She didn't deserve a medal. She hadn't done anything to be given such a thing.

"What are you talking about?" she voiced.

"You took on Itachi," he stated, looking at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world (which it sort of was).

"Barely," she snorted, recalling her collision with the wall as a result.

"No one else did," he rebuked.

"You did."

He turned his dark gaze back to the landscape. From their perch atop the Hokage Faces, there was nothing in Konoha that thy couldn't see. That included the boarded up Uchiha property, which she could not find, but was sure he could.

"Sasuke?"

A barely visible nod bobbed his head for her to proceed. She squeezed his hand again to reinforce her next words.

"You weren't ready."

"I should have been."

"You still have a lot to learn -"

"I should know it by now."

She ground her teeth together in frustration. His frosty gaze remained ahead and impassive. She hated when he did that. She detested when he shut her out like that.

* * *

_I just want to start again_

_And maybe you can show me how to try_

_Maybe you can take me in_

_Somewhere underneath your skin

* * *

_

"Sasuke…I wish you would just accept that you're not ready," she came right out and said it.

He instantly tensed up and she was afraid he'd yell at her and go on one of his rants about power and revenge. She started to take her hand away, thinking their time together for the day was finished due to the subject change. But, he latched onto her then, halting whatever thoughts she had of leaving. She was quiet as she watched him finger the lines in her palm, gingerly. He sighed a long, soft sound.

"I should listen to you more," he admitted, under his breath, the wind stealing his words so for a moment she didn't know what he had said.

"I wouldn't take advice from me," she murmured, casting her gaze down to the stone beneath her. "My solution to all my problems is to just throw myself at every guy I see and gain as much attention was possible."

"We've gone through this already. That wasn't you," Sasuke said, sternly, placing his gaze back upon her.

She did not meet it, eyes remaining down and beneath her corral pink hair. He sighed and ran his thumb along her knuckles, taking his other hand and cupping her chin within it.

"I don't blame you for what happened," he said again, tenderly, and pulling her face up to his level.

She bit her lip and continued to avoid making eye contact.

"I still don't know how you could say that," she whispered, tightly. "I am all to blame. Every action performed was by my hand and every word spoken was from my mouth!"

"You weren't yourself," Sasuke stated, firmly and indefinitely.

She shook her head in disagreement, a minuscule handful of salty droplets dropping past her concealing locks.

"Sakura, look at me," Sasuke demanded, getting frustrated with her refusal to leave it behind and move on.

She hesitated but, as usual, could not resist the magnetic pull of his voice, thus lifting her face to meet his affirmative gaze.

"I do not think any less of you for everything that happened," he whispered, pale hand reaching up to stroke her hair out of her eyes. "I told you a million times that I'll take the blame for it."

"But, _it wasn't your fault_," she insisted, stubbornly, jade eyes ablaze with the intensity of her statement.

Sasuke closed his eyes to gather himself for a moment.

"I will not allow you to dwell on that brief time for the rest of your life," he started, looking back at her again. "Yes, it was a mistake. Yes, a few people got hurt, but look at how it turned out. Naruto and Hinata are better than ever and I finally realized that I belong with you."

Saying that, he brought her hand up to his lips, laying a delicate kiss upon it.

"I don't deserve it," she murmured.

"Why is it so difficult for you to accept forgiveness?"

"Because what I did was just to terrible."

"What will it take for you to put it behind you?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke glared at her, trying to intimidate her out of it, but she refused. He watched her face for a while in an attempt at discovering her kryptonite. A sliver of an idea came to him, but he thought it was rather cruel. Regardless, he was rather desperate for her to move on and, very reluctantly, he played that card.

"How much do you love me?" he asked, taking both of her hands in his, giving her a half-lidded, sultry gaze that caught her off guard.

"M-More than anything," she stammered, shocked at his question.

"Do you love me enough to let it go?" he asked, voice low and drawing closer.

Her face flared up at his closeness and the vague comprehension that he was using his deadly Uchiha charm against her. Still, she had always been powerless against his melting stare. She caught herself bobbing her head at whatever he had just asked her. A victorious smile teased his lips that he laid upon hers.

"That's not fair," she whined when he withdrew.

"What's not fair?" Sasuke asked, innocently.

"Using your irresistibly to your advantage is cheating," she stated with a pout.

"Since when?" he chuckled.

"Since it should be _my _conscious decision."

"It came out of _your _mouth and you weren't _un_conscious."

She glared at him and he simply continued to cleverly smirk at her. She ended up sighing in defeat, sulking her shoulders and softening her eyes.

"Fine. If you really want me to…then, I'll try and put it behind me."

"Thank you," he breathed, leaning back to kiss her again.

"However…" she continued, placing her hand over his mouth with a wicked gleam in her jade eyes. "If you want me to get past it, there's one condition."

He raised an eyebrow at her challenge, onyx eyes suddenly sharp and prepared for anything.

"You have to promise that you'll love me, unconditionally and unbelievably, forever and ever and ever…"

He chuckled, sliding her hand off of his face and leaving kisses upon her palm.

"As you wish."

* * *

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or Hell to pay_

_What do you say?_

_What do you say?

* * *

_

"I hate award's ceremonies," Naruto grumbled as Hinata dragged him off to the Hokage's Mansion.

"Why would you hate a ceremony that honors _you_?" Hinata returned, raising an elegant eyebrow.

He shrugged, feet dragging in the dust as he trailed after her.

"That's awfully unlike you!" Hinata pointed out, nudging him in the arm. "Usually, you'd jump at the chance to be recognized by our village!"

"It doesn't matter," he brushed off with another shrug. "All that's important is that Konoha's safe. Getting an award for doing my duty is really pointless."

"Awww! Naruto! You're growing up, right in front of my eyes!"

She glomped his arm, suffocating the limb and making him grimace.

"Knock it off," he mumbled, face heated. "I'm not that bad."

"I'm sorry Naruto…you really are."

He glared at her, but her bright smile killed it. How the hell could such a sweet and talented girl be the daughter of such a tyrant?

"When do you want me to talk to him?" he asked, suddenly.

She blinked, not understanding his random question at first.

"Oh? Father? Whenever you're ready?"

"I'll never be ready."

She sighed, nibbling her lip as she tried formulating a solution. Her sigh was echoed by him as he squeezed her hand.

"After the ceremony," he said and she was taken aback.

"So soon? Are you sure?"

"Better sooner than later. Besides, I've got a pretty good idea of what I'll tell him to make him like me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'll tell him what every father wants to hear."

"What's that?"

"That his daughter is the most beautiful girl in the world."

* * *

_And I had my heart beaten down_

_But I always come back for more, yeah_

_There's nothing like love to pull you up_

_When your laying down on the floor there

* * *

_

"Sasuke! You don't have to do this," Sakura protested, vehemently as he forced her through the streets of Konoha.

"If you want to go, then damnit we're going!"

"But, I don't want to go!"

"That's bull! Besides, I want to see you get an award."

"I told you, I'm not getting an award!"

"That's more bull!"

It was a difficult trek for the two at the Hokage's Mansion. It was quite the opposite of what Sakura originally thought. Never in her lifetime did she think_ Sasuke _would be dragging _her _to a party. Usually, it was the other way around.

"Sasuke! For the last time I didn't do anything to deserve an award."

He emphasized his irritated exhale of breath with extra volume, stopping and turning around to face her.

"Fine. If you insist that you don't deserve anything for your actions during the raid, then you deserve something for the crap you had to but up with before."

"That's ridiculous -"

"Its not ridiculous. What you went through was unlike anything anyone else had to deal with."

"What I went through? I didn't go through anything! Its me who put all of you through Hell!"

"I thought you were going to let it go. Were you lying when you told me you loved me enough to do so?"

"Don't even think about it," she hissed, eyes narrowing as she put up her shields against his Uchiha charm.

"You promised," he said, shocked at how easily she'd tossed it aside.

"_I _promised nothing. _I _gave a condition and _you _made the promise," she rebuked, poking his chest.

This time, his eyes narrowed at the thrill of such a childish debate.

"So I did. I have to love you forever and ever."

"Yes, you did."

"But, I'll only keep my end of the bargain if you do as I asked."

"Not if I didn't promise."

"Sakura."

"I know! I know! I'm sorry but, its really hard to forgive myself."

"There is _nothing_?" he groaned, running a hand through his dark bangs.

She shrugged, shaking her head slightly.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"Because I want to own up to my actions. I don't want to just forget how much pain I caused. As long as I remember, then I'll always know how to avoid it happening again."

Sasuke held her in his familiar gaze, searching hers for something she did not have.

"Fine. I understand," he finally surrendered, honestly. "But, this means no unconditional love."

Her face fell, dramatically, and she gaped at his cool, dead serious face.

"Teme, what did you say this time?"

Sasuke stiffened considerably at the rough voice, glaring at Naruto as he and Hinata came around the corner. The blond grinned with his reflex response to the intimidating Uchiha death glare.

"Sasuke-kun doesn't want to love me unconditionally forever and ever!" Sakura suddenly wailed, crying waterfalls and sending Sasuke into a panic attack.

"Sasuke! How could you be so heartless?" Hinata played along, sending him an icy glare.

Naruto snickered behind his hand at the look of terror and confusion clear on the usually impassive face.

"It was just -"

"There are no excuses Uchiha," Hinata scolded, placing a hand on her hip and sending Naruto into hysteria. "It is your duty as a boyfriend to take care of the girl you have chosen as your girlfriend. You have to treat her with respect and unconditional love."

Sasuke glared at all three of them: Sakura's fake sniffling, Naruto's mocking laughter, and Hinata's stern, motherly position.

"I hate you all."

"That's what you get for not keeping your promise," Sakura then said, turning off the waterworks.

"You can think about what you've done during the ceremony today," Hinata added, reclaiming Naruto's arm to walk on.

Sakura smiled at Sasuke, teasingly, and nestled against his arm again. His jaw clenched and he avoided looking at her as the embarrassment stiffened him.

"Oh, come on! Its just a joke!" Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes and reclaiming her old job of dragging him to a party.

* * *

_So talk to me, talk to me_

_Like lovers do_

_Yeah walk with me, walk with me_

_Like lovers do_

_Like lovers do

* * *

_

"Welcome Konoha!" Tsunade greeted the assembled citizens before her mansion. "Today stand before you the many brave shinobi that defended our village from the Akatsuki a few nights ago."

She turned and gestured to the many rows of individuals behind her that had been a part of the plot to rid Konoha of Akatsuki. Sakura sunk low in her seat as the crowd cheered for the large group surrounding her.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked beside her.

"Pretending I'm not here."

"Why on Earth would you do that?" Naruto asked from around the Uchiha.

"Because I shouldn't be here!" she hissed back. "I had nothing to do with Akatsuki's departure."

"Of course you did," Hinata piped in beside Naruto. "You distracted Itachi so Sasuke could make his move. Not an easy feat."

"I didn't do much! I ended up with my head in the wall while all the rest of you were fighting for your lives."

All three of them sighed in exasperation. Man, she was hard to convince. They couldn't say much more since Tsunade began again.

"Today I'd like to commemorate the courage of these many shinobi for their quick wit and skills in driving away the Akatsuki."

The Hokage started running down a list of names, alphabetically. Sakura's entire being dropped to the bowels of Hell at the realization that she'd be honored early. How was she going to get out of it? She didn't deserve a medal. She didn't do anything. Sasuke's death grip on her and anchored her to her seat, preventing her from running away screaming. The names were narrowing down to H. Crap, Tsunade was fast.

"Haruno Sakura."

She had convinced herself that she would not move from her seat since Sasuke was holding her so tight. But, his tug to her feet and the betrayal of her legs brought her up to center stage where Shizune presented her with a medal so fast she had no time to reject it. She was back in her seat before she had any inkling of what had just occurred. All she did know was that there was something heavy around her neck, Sasuke had a smug smirk on his face, and Hinata was being called down.

"Hyuga Hinata. For your bravery and skill in confronting the S-Ranked criminal Hoshigaki Kisame, we present you with this medal of honor," Tsunade announced.

"Congratulations," Shizune murmured to the younger as she bowed her head to accept the award.

"It was an honor to serve our village by doing so," Hinata replied, returning to her seat with a confident smile.

"Woohoo! Yeah! That's my girl!" Naruto whooped from his seat, obviously earning some stares.

He then proceeded to scoop her up in his arms in a huge bear hug in front of _all _of Konoha.

"Stop it!" Hinata giggled.

"Knock it off Dobe," Sasuke muttered, yanking him back down to his seat before he embarrassed him any further.

The list went on. After Hinata, Neji received his medal for the same feat. Then, Kiba was called soon after, a timid smile upon his usually confident face. Hinata cheered extra loud for him. It was easy to tell when Tsunade was getting bored. She leaned on her podium, her powerful voice turning into a low drone at the long list. After about a half hour, she neared the end.

"Uchiha Sasuke. For your excellent strategic planning and level-headedness, we present you with this medal of honor."

Sasuke made it quicker than the rest. It was almost like he'd never left his seat. He was there and back again in the blink of an eye.

"Uzumaki Naruto. For your quick and stealthy retrieval of the lost scroll, we present you with this medal of honor."

Naruto was very surprised at the amount of cheers he received. He wasn't the most liked in Konoha for obvious reasons. It lifted his spirits to finally be acknowledged in a positive way by the people of Konoha.

"Yamanaka Ino, For your unique and original form of distraction, we present you with this medal of honor."

Tsunade grimaced at the recollection. It may have been degrading but, the kuinoichi had definitely gotten the job done. After Ino's theatrical receiving of her award, the Hokage quickly closed the ceremony and welcomed everyone for drinks.

* * *

_What do you say to taking chances?_

_What do you say to jumping off the edge?_

_Never knowing if there's solid ground below_

_Or a hand to hold, or Hell to pay_

_What do you say?_

_What do you say?

* * *

_

All of Konoha celebrated through the night, security tighter than at the Spring Equinox. Sakura escaped the sloshing drinks and dancing bodies at around 11:00, fleeing to the silence and sanctity of the Training Field where the cherry blossoms were in full bloom beneath the moonlight. She discarded her medal upon the ground beside her as she took a seat beneath a tree.

Sighing, she allowed her eyes to flutter closed and her head to roll back against the dark bark, soaking in the sweet scent of blossoms and moonlight. It was not long before he found her, sliding his arms around her shoulders and kissing her head.

"Why'd you run off like that?"

"Just needed some air."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah. I'm sure."

There was a pause, the gentle breeze of cherry blossom scent wafting over them. He knew what was on her mind.

"That medal you received today…You're not going to keep it as a reminder of your services to Konoha, are you?"

She silently shook her head.

"You'll keep it to remind yourself of what you did to the rest of us?"

She bit her lip and nodded slowly. He sighed warm breath falling around her.

"If you do that then, can you promise me one thing?"

"What's that?"

"Don't let it chain you down. Don't let it restrain you from succeeding. While you're under the guidance of our Hokage, promise me you won't let it dampen your dreams. Please."

His hold around her tightened and she held fast onto his arms, nestling closer to him.

"That I can promise."

A breath of relief escaped from his lips and he laid his head in her hair.

"I love you Sakura."

"I love you Sasuke."

* * *

**.:LoSt LoVe:.

* * *

**

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Very sure. The sooner the better."

Hyuga Hiashi did not waste his valuable time attending pointless parties. He'd gone straight home and Naruto and Hinata had readily followed. They stood outside the Hyuga mansion , Hinata squeezing his hand in nervousness.

"Why are you so nervous?" Naruto chuckled. "I'm the one that has to talk to the guy."

"I know and I'm proud of how fearless you are but…what if, no matter what you say, he still forbids us from seeing each other?"

"It doesn't matter what he says. Either way I still love you and I'll always find a way to see you."

He faced her, eyes burning with the intensity of his words. He brought his hand up to fondly stroke her face.

"I promise. No matter what, I'll always find a way to be with you."

"Likewise," she whispered, an overjoyed smile in place as he kissed her.

Hands laced together, they faced the door and walked in, both brimming with confidence that they'd be together forever no matter what.

* * *

_Don't know much about your life_

_Don't know much about your world

* * *

_

**Author's Review: **Its over. That's seriously it. You all knew what would happen anyway. Much critique is wanted for future rewrite. Thanks to all my fans!


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